Black and Blue
by spobycavanaugh99
Summary: Toby is familiar with the colors black and blue. He understands the true meaning of 'pain'. He faces it at school and at home, so he's no stranger to pain. Most of his life consisted of black and blue until she showed up. Bad summary hopefully the stories better. Rated T, may contain some minor violence and sexual content in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a new story I plan on writing. Read the first chapter and tell me what you think.**

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The argument of not liking someone because they're different is irrelevant. At least to Spencer it is. Everybody is different. There's not one person who will be exactly the same as you. People like different things and dislike different things. People come in different shapes and sizes. Some people are tall some are short. Some people have blonde hair some have brown or black or maybe even red. Some people are rich and some are poor. Differences are not what should tear us apart if anything it should bring us together. Take the time to sit down and share your differences with others instead of arguing. You could learn a lot by talking to someone who's different than you. Who knows, maybe that will help you find your soul mate.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Spencer pulls her hands out from underneath the covers and reaches out to turn off her alarm. She does this without even opening her eyes. It takes her a few minutes to open her eyes. The time on her clock reads 6:15 AM. She yawns and stretches out her arms as she sits up in her bed. The sun outside is shining through her bedroom window.

Just like every morning, she jumps into the shower and washes her hair with her favorite coconut scented shampoo and conditioner. She finishes up in the shower then steps out and wraps a blue fluffy towel around her tiny body. Next, she walks back into her room and over to her closet. It seems like the hardest decision teens make every day is what to wear. She settles on a black tank top and covers that up with a white and gray blazer. She pulls out a pair of black pants and stockings from her top dresser drawer. For her shoes, she picked her white boots with the black laces.

Now, it's 7:10 and school starts at eight. It's second semester of junior year and Spencer's already taking hard level classes. She's taking Russian History, AP French, AP English, Physics, and pre-calc. Not to mention all the clubs she's in. She's on the decathlon team, the school's field hockey team, she plays tennis and softball, and she's running for student body president.

After she was done getting dressed, she took the stairs down to the kitchen. Her mother and father were sitting at the table reading the paper and drinking coffee. Veronica, Spencer's mother, had a half eaten grapefruit on a small little plate along with a slice of her favorite cinnamon toast. Peter, Spencer's father, sat at the other end of the table with a half-eaten bowl of cereal.

"Good morning mom, dad," Spencer greeted.

Neither one of her parents said a word. They didn't even look up at her. For most of Spencer's life, she's been neglected by her parents. They never seem to notice her. The only time they do notice her is when she's in trouble. Spencer bowed her head and fixed herself a cup of coffee. Some footsteps thumped down the stairs and bounced into the kitchen.

"Morning dad, mom," Melissa greeted.

Melissa is Spencer's older sister. She's 24 and is currently working through law school. Veronica smiled up at Melissa.

"Good morning, dear."

Spencer leaned back against the counter watching the three of them engage in a conversation. Melissa is also the golden child in this family. Everything she does is just perfect to her parents. Melissa took all AP classes in high school, played all kinds of sports, was captain of a lot of clubs, and was student body president. The parents were thrilled. Spencer is doing all of that and her parents don't even care.

"How's law school going for you?" Veronica asked.

"Pretty good," Melissa said while sipping her coffee. "I hate to tell you that I got an 85 on my pre-test. I'm sorry."

"Oh, Melissa," Peter said.

Spencer felt a tight smile tugging on her lips. Melissa finally got an eighty in something. Spencer thought her parents would scold Melissa for not doing better. But, that's not what happened.

"That's okay, sweetie," Peter said.

"The important thing is that you tried your best," Veronica added.

Melissa faked a sad face, "I just hate that I disappointed you."

Veronica stood up and gave her a hug and said, "you could never disappoint us."

Spencer stood there feeling dumbstruck. If that was her who got the 85, her parents would have her deported.

"Spencer what are you still doing here!?" Peter snapped. "You have school to get to! If you're late again, I'm cutting you off from your worthless friends and you'll be grounded."

Spencer washed out her coffee cup then set it in the dish drainer. She picked up her school bag off the chair and walked out to her car.

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A staticky song played from the clock radio sitting on the bedside table. It took Toby a while to hear it. He's lying flat on his stomach with his face buried in the tan pillow on his bed. A stream of slobber is leaking out from the corner of his mouth leaving a small little-wet spot on his pillow. It was the sound of his phone ringing that woke him up. He inhaled deeply and reached out blindly for his phone. He pressed the answer button without even looking and held his phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

No, answer. Toby groaned and hung up his phone. He took another deep breath and lifted his head off the pillow. He used his right hand to wipe the drool off the corner of his mouth. The second he sat up, he felt a splitting headache. It felt like somebody hit him over the head with a gun. Using all of his energy, he got out of bed and walked into his bathroom. When he took a look in the mirror, the ring around his left eye is still slightly black and blue. He shook his head as he started to peel himself out of his clothes from the other night.

The water from his shower was a little cold. Seems like his father didn't even bother to leave him some hot water. After he got out of the shower, he changed into a plain white shirt, a leather jacket, and a pair of basketball shorts and leather pants. He strapped on his riding boots then walked back into the bathroom. His light brown hair is kind of a mess. It's all tousled in different directions. He used his favorite black comb to smooth all his hair in one direction making some of his hair hang out over his eyes. This is why he keeps his hair kind of long. It's to block the many black eyes that he gets.

He doesn't have a car to drive, so he takes his motorcycle. Even when it's raining, he'll take his motorcycle. If it's raining too hard for him to ride, he would be forced to walk. His father never bothers with the time to give him a ride. Kicking his feet up, he starts up his motorcycle and cruises down the road. The ride to school only takes him five minutes. Fifteen if he stops for coffee along the way. When he gets to school, he pulls up in his usual parking spot. It's the third row back, second space. He takes off his helmet and locks it under his seat.

School is rough on Toby. The classes he's taking seem to be too hard for him. He's taking Ap English, Chemistry, Algebra 2, government, and AP French. Toby has no idea why he's taking AP French. He doesn't really understand it and he barely passed French last year. He's a senior in high school and that's still a lot to handle. The classes aren't the only thing that's hard on him. Everyone in school is hard on him. The other students, the teachers, even the principal doesn't like him. If Toby would win any award at school, it would probably be the most hated person in town.

Toby was walking peacefully down the hall when his foot got caught on something making him fly forward having his chin meet roughly with the tile floor. The halls echoed with laughter. This isn't the first time he's been tripped while walking down the hallway. Actually, this kind of stuff happens everyday. People will trip him, slam his head into lockers, pull pranks on him, beat him, curse him, yell at him. People will just make him feel absolutely horrible. He doesn't know why, but he some how became the school's punching bag.

By using his elbows, he managed to push himself up. Everyone was still laughing at him when he stood up. He turned his head ready to glare at whoever just tripped him. That was until he came face to face with a brown-haired girl cupping a hand over her gaping mouth. She looked at him with apologetic eyes. Toby knows who this girl is. It's Spencer Hastings. The smartest girl in school. Maybe even the smartest student. That's also the girl he's had a crush on since the tenth grade. Spencer removed her shaky hand from over her mouth.

"I'm...I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention and I..."

She was cut off by Andrew Campbell coming up and pushing her to the side. He glared at Toby.

"Get lost loser and watch where you're going you clumsy loser," he sneered.

Andrews crew circled around him. Alison, Noel, Emily, Hanna, Aria, Caleb, and Sean are all in Andrews crew. It's actually Alison's posse. Alison and Andrew are the meanest people in school. They have everyone following along with whatever they say or want. If Andrew and Alison didn't like you, nobody did.

"It was my fault," Spencer said.

"Save it sweetie," Alison said. "You don't have to make excuses for him."

"Apologies to Spencer right now," Andrew hissed.

"That's really not necessary," Spencer said. "I should be apologizing to him."

"Shut up Spencer," Alison snapped. She turned to Toby and said, "she's waiting for your apology."

"Do it now," Hanna snapped. "Do it right now before I rip your head off!"

Toby sighed and turned to Spencer.

"I'm sorry."

Spencer opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get a word out her friends were ushering her down the hall. Alison glared at him when she walked by and Andrew shouldered him into the wall, then carried on down the hall with them. Toby stood back and flared through his nose. If there's anything he hates in this world, it's Alison and her posse.

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 **The first chapter was to introduce the characters and give a little idea on what their lives are like. Let me know what you thought and if I should continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews last chapter. Here's chapter 2**

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Most people don't like to take a second language in school, but Spencer likes it. She likes being able to speak multiple languages. Last semester she took Latin and got a 5 on her ap. She's been studying French since she was in the sixth grade, so now, she's practically fluent in the language. Spencer walked out into ap French with her books tucked under her arm and her bag over her shoulder. She entered the room and looked for the desk with her name tag on it. She finally spots it in the row closest to the window, the third seat back. She takes her seat and slowly starts taking her stuff out and arranging it nicely on her desktop.

More and more students started filing inside the room. Spencer looked up just in time to see Toby Cavanaugh walking inside the room. He's one grade ahead of her so she's a junior taking this class with seniors. He spotted her sitting at her desk. He looked up at her and sighed, then took his seat in front of her. She found the smell of his cologne intoxicating. It smelled like taking a walk through a forest filled with pine trees. She's not sure why, but she likes that smell.

The French teacher Ms. Raymond came in the room speaking French. Based on the confused looks on the students faces Spencer, however. She understood what she was saying. She understood every word. She said, "good morning class. I hope you all had a wonderful break. This semester in French we will be doing a lot more group projects, so be prepared for that. Now, please sit quietly while I take attendance. "

Spencer sat in her seat staring at the back of Toby's leather jacket. When he walked into the room, she remembers noticing him limping his way to his desk. She couldn't help but feel it was when she accidentally tripped him. She really meant it when she said it was an accident.

What happened was, she was struggling to get her locker open and she had her right leg sticking out behind her. One minute she was trying to get her locker open then she felt someone trip over her foot. When she turned around she found Toby sprawled out on the floor. She tried to apologize, but her friends kept butting in. She felt horrible afterward. She's been feeling horrible ever since. Maybe no she can take the time to say she's sorry. After hesitating for a minute or two, she finally reached out and tapped him twice on his leather jacket.

Confused, Toby slowly turned his head to the side so he could look at her. His left eyebrow was raised up and his other eye was kind of squinting at her. That's not what she noticed. She noticed the dark blue ring under his eye. She wondered if he got that when he hit the ground. She also noticed the crystal blue look in his eyes. He's looking at her now, she should probably say something.

"Um," was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

"What do you want?" She thought he would sound bitter, but he didn't. His voice came out smooth and gentle.

"This is about earlier."

He rolled his eyes, but his voice was still calm, "I've already apologized for being a clutch. What do you want me to do now? Get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness."

"You're not the one who should be apologizing I should. I'm sorry for tripping you in the hallway. It really was an accident."

"It's fine, I'm used to it."

"Well, you shouldn't be. I'm really sorry and I'm sorry for my friends too."

"Don't be," he said. "It's okay."

She was about to say something else, but Ms. Raymond told them to be quiet. They went back into a comfortable silence when the teacher continued her lecture.

"Should I wear my yellow top or the blue top?" Spencer heard Alison ask her friends as she took her seat at their lunch table.

"The yellow top," Emily answered with a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

"Thanks, Em," Emily winked and blew a kiss making Emily's cheeks go an even darker shade of red.

"Why are you asking which top?" Spencer asked.

"I'm asking which top I should wear to my next class," she answered.

"Alison, you don't need to change your outfit between every class."

"Yes, I do. There's this new hot senior in my fourth period that I'm trying to impress."

"Oh," Hanna smiled. "Who is it?"

""His name is Ezra."

Aria dropped her fork and looked up, "did you say, Ezra?"

Alison nodded. Aria's eyes widen.

"What's his last name?"

"I don't know Fritz or something like that."

"Oh my god," Aria said.

"I'm getting bored with this top," Alison said. "Emily come help me change."

Those two got up and left Aria, Hanna, and Spencer alone. Spencer noticed Aria's strange reaction when Alison mentioned Ezra's name.

"How do you know Ezra?" Spencer asked.

"What makes you think I know him?"

"Because your eyes grew the size of walnuts when Alison said his name."

"Okay," Aria sighed; "Over Christmas break I went to this party at some ski lodge. I met this guy who was really cute and we really hit it off."

"This guy was Ezra?" Hanna asked. She nodded. Hanna smiled, "who hit on who?"

"He hit on me," Aria said.

"And you guys hooked up?"

"Yup," Aria bit her lip. "Look, please don't tell Ali."

"Okay," Hanna said.

"We won't," Spencer added.

The long school day finally came to an end. Toby put all of his needed books into his bag then walked out to the parking lot. As he was walking out, he noticed Noel a huge black truck with Andrew in the passenger seat and Caleb parked in the back seat. Toby's mouth gaped open when Noel backed up his truck right into Toby's motorcycle. The whole thing got destroyed. It's going to take Toby months to fix that. Noel and Andrew poked their heads out of the truck's windows and laughed like hyenas.

"Woops, sorry loser!" Noel shouted and Andrew laughed even louder.

"Way to drive that thing Noel," Alison giggled as she lead her posse through the crowd. Everyone else was laughing, but Spencer, she looked displeased.

"It was in my blind spot," Noel said.

"Noel, maybe you should check your drivers license because I'm sure it's suspended," Spencer said.

"Shut up, Spencer," Alison hissed.

"You girls want a ride home?" Noel asked.

"You already know I do," Alison smirked.

Alison climbed up front with Andrew and Noel, and Aria and Hanna squeezed in the back seat with Caleb. Spencer stayed where she was standing.

"Come on Spencer," Andrew said. "You can sit on my lap."

"No," Spencer said. "Thanks, but I have my car."

"Your lost," Noel said then sped off out of the lot with her friend. Spencer looked back and saw Toby shaking his head at his bike.

"Need a ride?" He jumped when he heard Spencer behind him.

"Um, no, I can walk," he said.

"Okay," she nodded and walked back to her car. She got in, started it up, and drove out of the parking lot. Toby kicked himself for not taking her offer. It's stupid of him to hold a grudge towards Spencer. She didn't wreck his back. How could he ever be angry with the girl he is practically in love with?

The walk home took longer than it should have. He had to take the long way home because of some accident blocking his street. His dad's car is parked in the driveway so that means he's home. Toby hoped he wouldn't be there. He walked up his front porch steps and walked through the door. His father wasn't waiting for him by the door like he thought. Maybe he's upstairs sleeping and didn't even realize he's late getting home. Toby slowly walked into the kitchen and found no trace of his father around. Toby sighed and tossed his bag on the kitchen chair then opened up the fridge. Right when he opened it he heard a haunting voice speak up that he's been trying to avoid all day.

"Where the hell have you been, boy?"

Toby gulped and closed the fridge. His father knows he came home late from school. He's really going to get it now.

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 **Dun dun dun. What's going to happen next? Thanks for reading and reviewing last chapter. I hope you found this chapter just as good. Based on what you've read so far, what do you think is going on between Toby and his father? You'll get more about both Spencer and Toby's family life next chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys. Thanks for reviewing last chapter. This chapter will determine if I keep the story going or not, so if you want to read more of this story make sure you review and tell me.**

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Toby stood up and closed the refrigerator door. He stared at his dad who was standing in the entrance wearing a pair of gray sweat pants and a red plaid shirt that has a big dirt spot in the middle of it. His curly brown hair is all tousled most likely from sleeping all day. Toby can see his five o'clock shadow on his dad's face. George stumbles across the tile floor and holds onto the kitchen chair to keep himself up.

"Hand me a beer," he grumbled.

Toby did as he was told and hand him a bottle of Budweiser. George chipped off the cap and chugged down half of it. Toby wondered how his dad could drink all of that with flinching from the burning liquid going down his throat. Then again, he's been drinking like that for years so he's probably used to it by now. George stumbled to sit down on the chair and stared up Toby.

"Why are you home so late?"

"Noel ran over my motorcycle so I had to walk home."

"Dammit Toby," George slammed his fist on the table.

He looked down, "I'm sorry, dad."

"You'll have to get a job and pay to get it fixed," he said.

Toby nodded and said, "I will."

George stood up and walked over to the fridge. Toby watched him un-clip the paper that was stuck to the fridge when he walked in.

"Your grades from last semester came in today," his dad noted.

Toby gulped," really?"

"Yeah," he turned around to look at him.

Toby knew that his father would be mad with his grades. He's passing all of his classes with a C or higher, but he got a D- in French last semester. He knows that he's going to get punished for having bad grades.

"You got a D- in French," his dad grumbled.

"It's a hard class."

"I don't give a rats-ass how hard that class is!" His dad roared. "You need to get that grade up! I don't care how you do it, just do it!' Get a tutor, cheat your way to an A. I don't care! I never want to see you come home with anything below a C again! Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Toby mumbled.

"Good. Now, go take out the trash you worthless piece-of-shit."

His father bumped into his shoulder hard when he walked passed him. Toby sighed and grabbed the black trash bag out of the can.

* * *

Spencer flung her brown saddle-like bag on the white chair and stalked off to the kitchen. She opened it and found some fruit and a half carton of milk. She sighed and grabbed a yellow-green apple from the drawer. She kicked the door shut with her foot and sat at the breakfast bar, and read her book. Her parents must be out with Melissa somewhere since both of them have the day off today. It's not like they would ever spend their day off with her.

A quarter after 6 pm. The front door opened and footsteps stomped into the kitchen. Pretty soon her parents were standing in the room with scowls on their faces. Spencer looked up at them wondering what their problem is. Then her mom held up her report card from last semester. Her dad stood behind her mom with the same scowl on his face.

"What is this?" Veronica said.

"That's my report card," Spencer replied in a sarcastic tone.

Veronica raised one of her eyebrows, "let's take a look at it shall we? Calculus A+, AP French A+, AP English A+, Russian History A, and Physics, what's this little grade here? Oh, it's a B+. You got a B in Physics!"

"It's a B+," Spencer corrected.

"You got a B+ in one of your classes! That is not acceptable for a Hastings!" Veronica shouted.

"It's just a B, mom! It's still a good grade."

"That's not good enough."

"You have to do better than that if you want to get into UPenn," her dad said.

"Maybe I don't want to go to UPenn," Spencer said.

Her mother gasped, "five generations of Hastings went to UPenn. Melissa went to UPenn so that is where you have to go!"

"Spencer if you're going to be like Melissa you have to work harder and do better in school," Peter said.

"I'm trying the best I can!" She shouted.

"And that's not good enough," Veronica said. "You must do better than a B+. I never want to see this kind of grade again, do you understand me?"

"Yes," Spencer said.

"Alright, now, up to your room. Don't even bother coming down for dinner. I don't want to see your disappointing face for the rest of the night," Peter said.

Spencer flinched at her parents words. They sure know where to twist the knife. She grabbed her bag off the chair and walked up to her room. She shut her door then sat down on her bed preparing herself for a long night of studying. She has a short review quiz in Physics coming up tomorrow so she's going to have to stay up all night preparing for it. Shouldn't be too bad. That's nothing a couple mugs of coffee and a few energy boosters can't get her through.

2:48 am. Spencer yawned and looked up from her Physics book. She's getting tired and it's not even 3 am yet. Yawning a second time, she leans over and opens up her night stand. In her nightstand, she has a book, a few pencils and pens, a black notebook, her chap stick, and an orange bottle of pills. She grabs the orange bottle and unscrews the cap. She pours a couple of pills out on the palm of her hand then sets the bottle back on the stand. She grabs the half empty bottle of water and takes the pills.

3:27 am. Spencer is more awake than she was just minutes ago. Her focus seems clearer and she can process the information a lot better. She reads through her Physics book and copies down some of her notes into another notebook. This is her way of studying. She reads through the information and recopies her notes.

At 6:15 she finally passes out on her bed. She started out sleeping in her bed and somehow woke up on her red chair next to the window. It was the chill from the wind that woke her up. She lifted her head off the armrest and looked around the room. Her homework is all sprawled out at the end of her red chair and she's curled up in a ball on the chair with a flannel red blanket around her. She wipes the dried up slobber off her chin and looks across the room at her clock on her nightstand. It's 7:49 am. Oh, Crap! School starts at 8.

She scrambles off her chair and rushes around to get ready. She throws on a loose fitting pair of jeans and slips a gray sweatshirt on over her tank top. She combs her fingers through her hair not even bothering to check herself out in the mirror. She grabs her bag off of her bed and runs out to her car.

"Can anyone tell me how to say 'The weather outside is lovely today?'"

Toby sighed as he tried to stay awake through his French lesson. This is why he failed last semester. It's just so boring and he's always tried when he comes to school. The teacher stared out at the class and frowned when nobody answered her question. She leaned forward and rest her palms against her desk.

"Come on guys, somebody say it. This is all review from last semester."

Just then the door to her class room opened and Spencer Hastings came running into the room. It actually woke him up when she ran in like that. Spencer took many staggered breaths as she stopped in the middle of the room. Toby noticed her strange appearance. He's never seen her like that before. Her hair's all messed up and her clothes are tattered.

"Spencer," the teacher crossed her arms. "You're late."

"Sorry," she breathed. "It won't happen again."

The teacher nodded and said, "take your seat."

Spencer quietly walked over to her desk and sunk down in her seat. She got out her notebook and pen ready to write down whatever the teacher was talking about.

"Spencer, would you please share with the class how to say 'The weather outside is lovely today?'"

Spencer nodded and tried her best, "La température extérieure est belle aujourd'hui."

"Thank you, Spencer. Now," the teacher moved on to her lesson. "Get out your books and turn to page Vingt-quatre."

A few people had no idea what page she said, but got out their books anyway. Spencer dug through her bag when she realized she forgot her French book. She left it on her red chair in her room. The only books she has in her bag is her Physics book and her Calculus book. If she doesn't have a book, how is she suppose to follow along? She has to follow along or she'll be lost doing her homework. Actually, she can figure it out without her book, but it's still good to have it. She glanced up at Toby who is sitting in front of her. She reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. Toby turned around in his seat and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hey, Toby um, I forgot my book at home, can I take a look at yours?"

He shrugged, "sure, if you tell me what page number she said."

She couldn't help the laugh the escaped between her lips.

"We're supposed to be on page 24."

Toby nodded and opened up to that page. Spencer scooted her desk up so she could see his book. They worked silently while the teacher explained the assignment. The teacher was going on in French so Toby found it hard to understand what she was saying. He understood some words but the rest just sound like nonsense.

"Vous êtes devoirs ce soir est de travailler sur la page vingt-quatre . Ensuite , étudier le vocabulaire pour le petit quiz demain."

Toby's eyes narrowed in confusion. What the hell did she just say? He looked over at Spencer who seemed to understand what the teacher said. Maybe he should ask her what the assignment is. Then again, he doesn't want to bug her. If he doesn't have the assignment for tonight, he'll get a zero. That will make his father steaming mad. He decided to suck it up and ask her.

"Um, what did she say the assignment was?"

"She said our assignment is to work on page 24 and study our vocab for our quiz tomorrow."

"Oh, that makes since."

Spencer cracked a little smile, "I'm guessing you're struggling a little in French."

"And you'd be right. If I don't do better my dad is going to… I mean my dad's going to be really mad."

The bell rang in the middle of his sentence. They both stood up and started collecting their stuff.

"Yeah I get it," Spencer said while walking out with him. "My parents weren't too happy when they saw I got a B+ in Physics."

"A B+ Isn't too bad."

"For my parents it is. My parents have a very strict rule of A's only."

"I took Physics and got an A."

She paused in the hallway to look at him. He stopped to and looked at her.

"You got an A in Physics?"

"Yes," he chuckled. "I know it's hard to believe this airhead go an A in one of his classes."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know what you meant. I'm really good in Physics."

"I'd say you are," she bit her lip. "Do you think you could help me?"

Toby almost laughed, "is Spencer Hastings asking me for help? You're the smartest person in this school."

"I know, but if I don't get my Physics grade up my parents will get really mad. So, will you help me?"

"I don't know," he sighed.

"How about this, I'll help you in French if you help me in Physics."

"You would help me?" He questioned.

She nodded. Toby thought about it for a second. He does need help in French and his father said to find a way to do better or else.

"Okay," he said. "It's a deal."

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 **Spencer and Toby just made a deal to help each other. Will this form a special bond between them? Again, make sure to review so I know if I should keep this story going or not.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Should I paint my nails blue or red?" Alison asked.

Lunch time seemed to be the only time all five girls were together. They would talk about boys, clothes, hairstyles, and fashion tips. Today, Alison is trying to decide what color she should paint her nails. She's still trying to impress Ezra.

"I think you should go with blue," Emily said. "It goes better with your eyes."

Alison smiled, "you always know what is best for me."

Spencer chewed silently on her chicken sandwich and watched the girls interact. She doesn't really have much to say to them today. She's still upset about their part in running over Toby's bike. Why does everyone in school have to be so cruel to him? She thought about telling them about the deal she made with Toby but feared they would only cause him more trouble. For his sake, she decided to keep it on the down low. Hanna sat beside her trying to get the mustard out of the bottle. She ended up hitting the butt of the bottle so hard that mustard flew out of it and splattered all over Aria's face. The four girls bursted out into laughter. Alison sat there looking at them like they were crazy.

"I'm sorry, Aria," Hanna laughed while handing her a napkin.

"That's okay, Han," Aria laughed. "If you didn't like my face all you had to do was say so."

The girls laughed even louder. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to stare at them. Alison felt embarrassed by her idiotic friends and didn't see the humor in the situation.

"Would you guys cool it," Alison hissed. "You guys are acting like ten-year-olds."

"Lighten up will you?" Spencer said.

Aria finished wiping off her face then threw away the napkin. The girls fell back in an awkward silence. Just then Noel, Andrew, and Caleb came over to join the girls. Noel sat between Alison and Emily. Caleb sat next to Hanna and Aria. Then Andrew pulled up uncomfortably close to Spencer. They broke out into a deep discussion about Noel's Halloween party that's a month away. All the girls are excited about it. The three boys plan to dress up as the Three Musketeers and Alison wants to dress up as Lady G and have her friends be her backup dancers. Spencer isn't too sure about going. Her parents might not let her if she doesn't get her Physics grade up. She still has a month to do so. It should only take a couple quizzes and a few homework assignments for her to get an A.

"What do you think Spence?" Andrew asked.

"Sorry, what?"

Andrew was rambling on about something and she didn't hear him. She was busy thinking about her grade.

"I asked if you wanted to hang out sometime. We haven't hung out alone in a while. I thought maybe we could go see a movie on Friday night."

"Oh," Spencer sounded surprised. "Well, I guess. Is anybody else coming?" She asked the whole table.

"I can't I have a family dinner," Aria said.

"And my dad's visiting from Texas," Emily said.

"And I just don't want to," Alison added.

"Then I guess it's just you and me, Spencer," Andrew said.

Spencer faked a smile, "actually, I can't go. My parents grounded me because of my grade in Physics, so I can't go anywhere."

"Won't your parents be out of town that night?" He asked.

"No," she lied.

"Yeah, they will," Alison spoke up. "Your parents have a conference meeting that weekend and won't be back until Tuesday."

"Melissa would be there," Spencer said.

Alison smiled, "no, she's away at law school. Your family won't know about you sneaking out, so I guess you're all out of excuses on why you can't go."

"I guess not," Spencer said through gritted teeth.

"So that is a yes then," Andrew said.

Spencer slapped her knees with her hands, "that's a yes."

"Cool," Andrew smirked. "I'll pick you up at your house at 6?"

"Okay."

The bell rang and the boys got up and left. Spencer sat there and glared at Alison who was smirking at her. The day dragged on rather slowly and Spencer just wanted to get home. She went to her locker and got out all of her necessary books she'll need. When she shut her locker, she turned around and saw Toby at his locker just down the hall. They never did plan a time to meet. Maybe now would be a good time to do that. She slipped her bag over her shoulder and slowly walked over to him.

"Hi," she spoke quietly

He seemed startled at first. This is usually when someone pulls a horrible trick on him. After school and before school are usually when people mess with him the most. Although throughout the day people will pick on him, tease him, and pull pranks on him. It's truly horrible to witness the things he's suffered.

"Hi," he bowed his head when he spoke. "Did you uh need something?"

"We never picked a time when we could meet," she hinted about their deal earlier.

"Right," he nodded. "Could I just text you later? I really gotta go."

"Yeah, sure."

She gave him her number. He took it then walked quickly down the hall. Spencer stood back and watched him leave. Why is he in such a hurry? Maybe he just wants to miss being beaten on by Noel in his posse of jerks. That's understandable. Spencer walked out to her car and got in. The drive home was quick and silent. Her parents were not yet home, so she had some quite time to spare. To start, she had a quick cup of coffee and got to catch up on The Voice. Then, she went up to her room to get started on her homework. At 5:48 she got a text from Toby asking her to come at 6:30. She quickly texted back and said she'd be there.

* * *

Toby finished sending the text and walked back into the living room. He found his dad there passed out on the couch. Oh no, if Spencer comes here and she see's his dad like that, she's going to know something's up. If only there was someway to get him to leave the house before Spencer got here. He could ask if they could meet at the library or even her house, but his father hates it when he's out of the house besides being at school and work. They could work on the front porch, but that would be too ghetto. Since his dad is asleep, Toby figured he should turn off the t.v. No use having it on if nobody's watching it. As soon as he shut off the television, that's when his dad woke up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" His dad grumbled.

"I was just turning off the television."

"Why?"

"You were asleep."

His dad struggled to push himself off the couch. He stood up and walked towards him.

"So, you think that just because I was asleep you could just come in here and turn off my t.v?"

"It's to save electricity."

"I turned on the t.v, so don't you think I should be the one who judges if it's off or not?"

Toby shrugged. George then shoved Toby back hard against the wall. Toby balanced himself so he wouldn't fall down. He's used to this kind of treatment. He gets it almost everyday. George slammed Toby back against the wall and folded his hand into a fist about ready to punch him if it weren't for the knock on the door. Toby unflinched himself and his father took a step back.

"Who the hell is knocking on the door?" George asked.

"That's probably Spencer."

"Spencer?"

"She's coming here to tutor me in French."

"We'll finish this after she leaves."

George grumbled then sat back down on the couch. Toby sighed and went to answer the door. Just as he suspected. Spencer was standing outside on his front porch with her bag over her shoulder. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she has on a black French style coat. Her eyes appeared light brown thanks to the sunlight. Her cheeks are a little rosy and her lips are curled into a tight smile.

"Hey, I'm a little early I hope that's okay," she spoke softly.

"No, that's perfectly fine," he matched her tone when he spoke. He moved to the side, "um, you can come in."

Spencer stepped inside his cozy looking house. She looked around while he shut the front door behind her. The loud sound of the t.v echoed from the family room. Good thing Spencer didn't walk straight into the family room. He's not ready for her to see his dad.

"on y va?" He smiled softly and gestured towards the stairs.

She smiled back and said, "Bien."

* * *

 **I'm going to end the chapter here and next chapter will continue with their tutoring session. You will notice how quickly the form a bonded much like they did in the show. By the way, if you're wondering what they said in French. Toby said: "Shall we?" Then Spencer said: "Okay."**

 **Thanks for reading and as always don't forget to review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for reviewing last chapter. Spencer and Toby start a special bond in this chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

Spencer looked around Toby's room at all of his stuff. She looked at all the posters on his wall and the pictures of his mother. There a couple of him as a little boy on his dresser. His window shelves are filled with his model cars and other stuff he made with his bare hands. His bedspread is a light yellow color with matching yellow sheets and pillows. The curtains hanging from the windows are a light blue color that appears white in the sunlight. The wooden flooring seems to fit the room just right. There's a door right next to his desk that leads to his closet. Spencer thought his room was cozy and nice.

"You have a really nice room," she said.

"Uh thanks," he rubbed his nose and said. "You can sit down."

"Okay."

She set her bag down by the side of his bed and sat down on it. She smiled a little when his bed bounced when she sat down. Toby brought over his French book and sat down beside her on the other side of his bed. They opened up to the right page and got to work. Spencer helped him with the homework assignment. He struggled a lot because he couldn't understand what any of the questions was asking. He understands it a little more now, but it's still hard when he doesn't know how to speak French. Halfway through the lesson, Spencer pulled something out of her bag.

"I notice that you're still struggling with your pronunciation and I think I know why. Who did you have your first year of French?" She asked.

"Ms. Ravens."

She nodded, "that's what I thought. Ms, Ravens Isn't the best teacher to have your first year of French and I think that is why you are still struggling today, so today, we're going back to the basics." She held up some index cards and said, " I made you some flashcards that you can study. These are all are vocab words for our quiz tomorrow plus some other phrases you should know to help you understand French."

He took the cards from her and looked at them. They seemed simple enough, but Spencer will quiz him on them later. Next, Spencer gave him a hand on his Literature homework. He's okay at Literature, but they read a short story that he had trouble understanding so, Spencer offered a helping hand.

"Okay," Spencer said. "Let's do a quick review over your flashcards."

"Okay," he nodded.

She held up the first card and said, "what's the French translation for Hello?"

"um, bonjour."

"Correct. Next one, what's the translation for goodbye?"

"Au Revoir."

"Right," she smiled. "See, you don't need me."

He smiled shyly," wait till we get to the harder stuff."

She held up the next card and asked for the translation for a boy.

"garçon."

"Okay, what is a girl?"

"Fille."

Spencer smiled, "Toby you are really hitting the nail. Are you sure you need a tutor?"

"Yes. I remember some words, but a lot of it I don't understand."

"Well, so far you're doing great."

She held up the next card and they went on like that for an hour. They went over the days of the week. Toby counted to one hundred in French. Then they went over the months. Lastly, Spencer helped him say a few phrases. He's really coming along. They finished with the French lesson and moved on to Physics.

"Just remember entropy describes the randomness of a substance," Toby explained.

Toby paused to yawn for a second and squeeze his brow with his hand. Spencer noticed this and figured he's all worn out.

"Hey, Toby, we can be done for the day if you're tired," she said.

"No," he shook his head. "I'm fine. We can keep going. You still need to find these four vocab words."

"I can take care of that on my own. All I have to do is read the book."

"It's okay," he insisted.

"We should at least take a break. We've been studying nonstop for two hours."

"Okay," he set his book aside. "I guess we can take a quick break."

"Twenty minutes then back to work," she said.

He nodded in agreement. They set their books aside and just sat there quietly. Toby wondered if he should say something instead of both of them sitting here in awkward silence. When she was looking at his shelf, he looked at her and studied her facial features. He studied her perfect face her cheekbones. He looked over her skin and her perfect hair. She is easily the most beautiful girl he's ever laid eyes on.

"Did you make all of those?" She pointed to all the models on the window shelf.

"Yeah."

She got up from her spot on his bed and circled around over to the window. She picked up a yellow car with four black wheels. She studied the woodwork and slide her finger along it. It's all smooth and looks really nice. She sat that one done then picked up the red ladybug car. She laughed at how cute it looked.

"That was my mother's favorite," he said while getting off the bed.

He started walking over to the window.

"I like it too," she smiled. "Especially the little black dots all around to make it look like an actual ladybug."

He reached for the toy car at the same time she was about to set it down. His fingers touched hers and it felt like somebody shocked him. Spencer looked up at them same time he did and their eyes met. Coffee brown eyes met with his soft ocean blue eyes. He peeled his eyes away first and set the car back in its spot. She looked at all the other stuff he's made. She's really amazed at how good he is.

"I see why you got an A+ in the woodshop," she said.

"My uncle taught me how to sand wood the right way and make it into something."

"Did your father ever help you make any of this stuff?" She asked out of curiosity.

"No," he looked down at his hands. "My father's never been the tip to help me with anything."

She looked at him apologetically, "I'm sorry."

"My uncle did help me make my dresser. He help me cut up the wood into perfect lengths then watched me put the whole thing together."

Spencer turned around and looked at his dresser. Her eyes gleamed with excitement while her hands ran all over the surface. Each dresser drawer has a leafy design. She's guessing he carved those himself.

"This is really cool," she smiled. "You're very good. If you ever decided to build furniture and sell it give me your business car, because I will be a regular customer."

He chuckled and stepped closer, "actually I was thinking of doing more than just building furniture. More like building houses."

"So like a carpenter?"

"Exactly like a carpenter."

"Well, I have your number, so now I know who to call for my extreme home makeover."

He laughed again, "I'm not too sure how good I'll be."

"Are you kidding?" She spun around to look at him. "You're amazing Toby. Look at all of this. You're better than the carpenter my parents hired to redo our barn."

"Thanks. My uncle has his own company, so I'm going to start working for him starting next week. I've apprenticed with him in the past, but I need a job to pay for repairs on my motorcycle."

"Right," she nodded sadly remembering what happened to it. "I'm really sorry about that. Noel and those other guys are jerks."

He shrugged and sat back down on the bed, "I'm over it." He opened up his Physics book and said, "so, we should probably get back to work now."

She took the book out of his hands and sat down beside him. She shut his book and said.

"Maybe we should be done with studying for today and just hangout."

"Hangout?" He questioned. "And do what?"

She shrugged and said, "I don't know. We could talk or we could sit on opposite side of the room and just be here. Or if you really want I can just take off now."

"No," he said rather quickly.

Truth his he likes having her here. He's never had someone he could just talk to around and he would like to have that. If there's anyone he wants to be around it's her. Plus if she leaves now, his father will come back up and use him as a punching bag. The longer Spencer stays, the longer he'll have to wait for his beating from his father. Toby blushed a little when she sat back down.

"I like your idea of just being here and talking. It's been awhile since I've had someone to talk to," he admitted.

Spencer smiled while scooting back up on his bed and leaned back on his pillows. Toby smiled at sat at the end of his bed with his legs hanging off the side.

"What's your favorite band?" She asked.

"Well…"

Spencer listened while he went into detail about his favorite band. They sat back and talked about all sorts of things. They shared their favorite songs, bands, books, movies, and talked about their favorite activities. Toby learned that she's not a big fan of going to parties. She would much rather sit at home reading classic novels or watching a classic film over going out and getting drunk. That's just like him. He doesn't like going to parties much either. Not that he's ever been invited to many. He went to one party in high school and that was this one kid named Lucas. He invited a lot of people and only thirty people showed up. Spencer and Hanna went to the party along with Mona and Hanna's boyfriend Caleb. After talking for a good hour and a half, Spencer had to get home before her parents. Toby walked her down stairs and out the door. They said their goodbyes and made a schedule to meet three times a week after school. Once a week they would meet at his house, then at her house another day, and the third day they would just see where would be a good place to meet.

"Bye Spencer thanks for everything," Toby waved.

She smiled and waved back, "thanks for the help in Physics. Good luck on the quiz tomorrow. I know you will do great."

Toby smiled one last time before watching her walk down the steps and onto the sidewalk. He shut the door and sighed. Loud footsteps shuffled up behind him. He gulped already knowing what's coming.

"It's about time she left," George said.

Toby squeezed his eyes shut preparing himself for what's to come.

* * *

 **Hope you all liked this chapter and seeing Spencer and Toby bond. Now, you guys have an idea on what Toby's relationship with his father is and it's not a pretty one either. Is this the beginning of a friendship between Spencer and Toby or will her friends ruin things? Find out next chapter. Thanks for reading and please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Keep up with the reviews.**

* * *

Take a deep breath and make sure nobody is watching you. Walk in and keep your eyes forward and head down. Avoid eye contact with everyone. Toby knows the drill. He's done this many times before. One thing he's gotten really good at is hiding the black eyes, scratches, and other bruises he may receive. He kept his head down the whole way to his locker. Nobody seemed to notice him. That was until he heard Noel and his gang coming this way. Oh boy, not this too. Noel came over and leaned against the locker right next to mine. Then, Andrew came up and slapped a hand on my back. I flinched not because he hit me hard, but because I already have a bad bruise there.

"Hey, how's our favorite punching bag doing?" Andrew taunted.

Noel looked down at Toby's brown backpack. He's had it since the sixth grade and it's all worn out now. His mother got it for him before she died and his father never bought him a new one. Toby never made any effort to buy a new bag either. He's used the bag so much it's all dirty and has small holes all around it. Noel grabbed Toby's bag from him.

"Nice bag you got here," Noel said.

"Please give that back," Toby spoke quietly.

"Sure thing," Noel unbuttoned the bag and held it upside down. All of Toby's books and papers flew out of it and scattered all over the floor. Noel laughed and handed his bag back, "here you go."

"Guys," Caleb spoke up in a warning tone.

"What?" Andrew challenged.

"Nothing," Caleb backed down. "We should get to class before we're late."

"Fine," Noel said.

Both boys backed away and followed Caleb down the hall. Toby sighed and bent down to pick up all his stuff. He gathered all of his books and papers and tossed them in his locker. The bell rang for the first period and he's still in the hallway. Oh no, now he's late to French class. Toby grabbed everything he needs for French, shut his locker, then walked to class. The teacher was just passing out the quiz when he walked through the door. The whole class looked up when the door closed behind him. He looked down and pulled his black hat over his face.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Toby," the teacher said.

"Sorry, I'm late."

She gestured towards his desk and said, "take a seat."

Toby walked over and slumped down in his desk. He got a pencil out and got started on his quiz. Just like Spencer said these are all vocab words that they went over, but he was hit so hard last not he can't remember. The first five question ask him to translate the English words into French and do the opposite for the next five questions. What is a spoon in French again? He tapped the end of his pencil on his desk and his foot started shaking.

"Five minutes," the teacher warned.

Toby's forehead started sweating. Time's almost up and he doesn't have anything written down. The only thing he does have written down is his name. He lifted his head up and looked around the room as if that would help him come up with the answers.

"Time's up class. Turn your quizzes over and hand them over to Spencer. "

The sound of papers rustled as everyone passed their papers along. Spencer took them all one by one and held them in a neat stack. She noticed that Toby still hadn't passed up his quiz.

"Toby," she whispered.

"Huh?"

"Your quiz."

"Oh."

He looked down and it was still blank. Spencer hadn't seen that his paper is blank. When she finally did look down, she was shocked.

"Why didn't you write the answers down?" She whispered.

"I-I couldn't remember."

"We spent hours going over those words. You know them."

"I couldn't focus. I've got a lot on my mind."

Spencer sighed and grabbed his paper. Toby sat back thinking that he's going to get a zero. It surprised him when he heard the sound of an eraser then the sound of a pencil writing something down on paper. He sat up and looked over Spencer's shoulder to see what she was doing. She quickly wrote the answers for him down on his quiz. When she was done, she shuffled the quizzes up then told the teacher she has them all. The teacher thanked her and took the quizzes. Spencer sat back in her seat and took a deep breath. Toby wondered why she would do something like that.

"Toby," the teacher called out.

"Yes?"

"I don't allow hats in my classroom. Please take it off."

Toby froze. If he takes his hat off everyone will see the cut by his left eye. The teacher watched him until he did what he was told. He sighed and removed the hat from on top of his head. Nobody seemed to react to the scar on his face. Not even the teacher. Maybe he was worried about nothing. He has to remember that no one here at this school cares about him. Nobody in this world cares about him. The bell rang a minute later and everyone got up and left. Toby picked up his books and walked out with the rest of the class. He got to his locker and jumped when he somebody tapped his shoulder. He thought it was Noel or Andrew. It was Spencer. He turned around and she immediately saw the by his eye.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," he looked away.

She turned him back around, "did Noel do that to you?"

"No."

"Was it Andrew?"

"No. I cut myself shaving."

She didn't necessarily believe his story, but she doesn't know him well enough to argue. So, she moves on.

"What happened in French today?" She asked.

"I don't know," Toby shook his head and faced his locker. "Most have lost my train of thought or something. That always happens."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I feel fine. I'm a little tired though."

"Oh, well, I should get to class."

Spencer tugged on her bag and turned to walk down the hall.

"Wait," he called out to her.

She turned around and said, "what?"

"Why did you do what you did?"

"What do you mean?"

"On my quiz you wrote down the answers for me. Why'd you do it?"

She slid her foot across the tile floor then kicked it with the tip of her foot. Toby kept his eyes on her waiting for an answer. She was about to answer until Alison, Andrew, and Emily came up to them.

"Spencer," Alison fake laughed. "What are you doing talking to this loser?"

Spencer shrugged away when Andrew came up and put his hand on her waist. She stayed quiet instead of answering their question.

"It was my fault," Toby spoke up. "I stopped her in the hallway to ask a homework question."

"Well, back off CavaNobody," Andrew hissed. "She's taken."

Spencer rolled her eyes and mumbled, "you wish."

"What was that, Spencer?" Alison questioned.

"I said answering a simple homework question Isn't a problem. Now, we should go before we're all late."

Spencer tugged on Alison's and Andrew's arms and tugged them along the hallway. Emily followed behind them quietly. Toby sighed and shut his locker.

* * *

The school day came to an end. While most students couldn't wait to get home, Toby dreaded it. It's Friday and Friday nights are usually the worst nights with his dad. Most weekends are bad with his dad. If he hurries home maybe he can get there before his dad. He's thinking about just staying at a motel for the weekend. He did that a few times over summer break. His dad is going to be home in ten minutes and it takes longer to walk. There's no way he'l beat his dad home. Most of the students have already left, so he walked out on his own. When he reached the bottom stepped, he heard the door to the school open as another student came it. It was Spencer. She had her car keys in hand and her bag over her shoulder. He still wanted to know why she took his French quiz for him.

"Have a nice weekend, Toby," Spencer huffed tiredly as she walked by him.

"Wait a minute."

He jogged after her and stopped her before she got in her car. She turned around.

"You never answered my question."

"What question?"

He tilted his head, "you know what I'm talking about. Why did you finish my quiz for me. Do you know what could have happened if you got caught?"

She sighed, "I only wrote down the answers that you knew. You knew what those answers were, so it would've been crazy for you to get a zero. I just wrote down what you were thinking."

"That still doesn't explain why you helped me."

She spread her arms out, "can't I help a classmate out?"

"Yeah, but nobody ever helps me."

"Well, I think it's time that changed, don't you?"

"Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?"

"Because you're a nice person and nice people deserve to be treated nicely. Besides, was I ever really mean to you in anyway?"

"Well, now that I think about it, no."

"How are you getting home now without your motorcycle?" She asked.

"By walking home."

"It's going to rain soon. I could give you a ride home."

"That's okay. I don't mind walking home."

She gave him a look, "you're telling me that you enjoy walking home in the pouring rain with all the heavy wind?"

He shrugged and said, "I'm a fast walker. I can get home before the storm hits."

"I have a question for you."

"Ask."

"Why won't you let me help you?" He didn't answer, so she continued. "Come on Toby, I can give you a ride home. It's no trouble at all."

"Alright."

They walked across the parking lot to her highlander. The winds started to pick up speed and the air smells like rain. Thunder rumbled in the distance making him get goose bumps. Toby surprised himself when she opened up her car door for her. She smiled at him as she slid into the drivers seat. He shut her door then walked around to the passengers' side. Once he was in, Spencer started up her car and drove out of the school's parking lot. The ride home was silently, but surprisingly not awkward. Toby can't seem to wrap his brain around the fact that he's riding in the same car with the girl he likes. It took five and a half minutes to get to his house.

"Are you going on the class camping trip next weekend?"

The question caught him off guard.

"Um I haven't decided yet."

"None of my friends want together besides Hanna. Everyone else is afraid of being outdoors. It would be nice if somebody I know went."

"Why Isn't Hanna going?"

"She has to babysit that Saturday."

"And none of your other friends are going."

"Nope."

Every year the school has a class field trip for Juniors and Seniors only. This year the class is taking a two day trip to French Creek Park. He wasn't originally going to go, but maybe this would be a good time to actually bond with Spencer alone. They've only had one real conversation before now. This is the girl he likes and if he has any chance with her he has to get to know her or at least try to.

"Actually I think I am going on that camping trip."

Spencer's face lit up, "awesome! I'm so glad somebody else I know is going! You are officially the best friend ever!"

It felt weird hearing someone call him friend. He's never had one before and nobody's ever called him friend.

"We're friends?" He questioned.

"Well, yeah," she replied shyly. "We shared a book and we're helping each other in school. I would say that puts us on a track to being friends. What would you call it?"

"I don't know," he smirked. "Classmates that are helping each other out."

She smiled a little, "well, fellow classmate helping me with my Physics and agreeing to go on this camping trip with me, we just arrived to your house."

Toby looked up at his two story brick house. His father's car Isn't in the driveway, so he must not be home.

"Thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome."

He got out of the car then shut the door behind him. Before he walked up his drive, Spencer rolled down her window and called out to him.

"Just for the record, Toby, I'm giving you a ride home from school everyday until you get your motorcycle back."

He smirked and pressed his palm against her car, "is that so?"

"Yes."

"I guess I can't argue with a Hastings can I?"

"You can," she said. "But it would be like arguing with a stone wall."

He smiled and said, "goodbye, Spencer."

"Bye."

He stepped back and Spencer drove down the street. Spencer is really dreading this weekend. Andrew is making her go out with him tonight and she is not looking forward to it. Andrew Isn't really her type. She doesn't really know what her type is, but she knows it's not guys like Andrew and Noel. Maybe she's into the shy, mysterious, nice kind of guy. The kind with blue eyes, a nice smile, and cute hair style. Who fits that description?

* * *

 **This chapter wasn't too great, but hopefully the next one will. Next chapter is the camping trip. Let me just say a tent, cold rain, and a scared Spencer looking for comfort. (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm back with a new chapter! Enjoy and tell me what you think of this chapter.**

* * *

After an agonizing evening with Andrew, Spencer has never been so glad to be back at her front door. Normally she dreads coming home, but not as much as she dreaded going to the movies with Andrew. When he drove her home, he insisted on walking her up to the door. She tried to convince him not to, but here they are walking up to the Hastings front door.

"I had a good time tonight," Andrew beamed. "Did you?"

Spencer faked a smile and nodded. Andrew smiled and took that as a yes. They reached her front porch and stood there facing each other. Andrew removed his hands from his pockets and slapped them to his side.

"Aren't you going to invite me inside for some after date coffee?"

"This was a date?" She asked.

"Yeah," Andrew huffed a laugh. "What did you think it was? I mean two friends went out together to see a movie."

"I honestly thought it was just two friends hanging out my mistake."

"Maybe I didn't make it clear enough for you."

"I'm smart, I should've figured it out on my own."

"So," Andrew said after a moment of awkward silence. "Are you going to invite me in or not?"

"Not, sorry, Andrew, but I'm really tired and I just want some time to relax by myself."

"I could come inside with you and rub your shoulders after you take a long steamy shower."

"My answers no, Andrew."

"Come on Spencer," Andrew sighed. "We've been beating around the bush for some time now, but we both know there's something between us. Can't we stop pretending there's not and get together already?"

"There is nothing between us. We really are just friends and that is all we will ever be. Period."

"Spencer…" he started.

"I have to go. Thanks for the movie. Goodbye, Andrew."

Spencer walked inside her house and quickly shut the door behind her before Andrew could get out another word. She pressed her back against the door and waited for the sound of his car leaving the driveway before going up to her room. The first thing Spencer did when she got upstairs was kick off her shoes and strip out of her blue blazer and pants. She then slipped into a pair of plaid pajama pants and white t-shirt that she got at a Katy Perry concert she went to with Hanna last summer. Since she never had a proper dinner, she walked down to the kitchen and heated up some leftover pizza she had for lunch. She sat on the sofa with her two slices of pizza and watched her favorite Shakespeare movie, _Hamlet_. Spencer adores Shakespeare and Hamlet is her absolute favorite.

* * *

After another long, painful night, Toby walked to the freezer and grabbed the ice pack he often uses. He took it out of the freezer and applied it to the bruise under his eye. Toby's used to this kind of pain by now. He gets it two, three times a day. No one knows about this and he hopes to keep it that way. He walked out of the kitchen and sat down on his dark red couch. There's nothing much on t.v tonight other than _Hamlet._ Nobody knows this but, Toby likes Shakespeare. He used to read Shakespeare with his mother and she took him to see Hamlet at some film festival they had back in school. One thing he's really looking forward to next weekend is going on that camping trip. He'll be away from his father for two days. Not only that, but Spencer's going and none of her friends are. Although there will be people there that will still pick on him, it won't be as bad as when Noel, Alison, and Andrew beat him. Yep, Toby's totally looking forward to this class camping trip.

 **Friday at 6: 45 am**

That morning, Spencer woke up super early just to get ready for the trip. Although she did pack the night before, she still wanted to get up early to double check that she had everything ready. She took a shower, got dressed, then ate breakfast. It is now 7:15 and all the students that are going on the camping trip are to be at school by 7:40. So, Spencer poured herself a second cup of coffee to go and headed out to her car. It was 7:30 by the time she got to school and a total of fifteen students were there as well. The buses start loading at 7:50 then they leave the school at 8.

Spencer picked up her bag off the passengers seat then got out of her car. A few other students started showing up when she checked in. She sat on the front step of the school drinking her coffee and reading a book she brought along. Mr. K came out and started corralling everyone towards the busses. Spencer waited in line to get on the bus. At the same time, she was searching the crowd for Toby. Wasn't he coming today? Why Isn't he here? A student behind her gave her a light push. When she looked down, she realized she's next to hop on the bus. She grabbed the metal handle and took the three steps up. Spencer picked a seat close to the back and seat so no one would sit beside her. It's 7:55, Toby's still not here yet, and the bus leaves in five minutes.

Right when the bus driver was about to shut the door, a teacher announced that another student is coming. Spencer peeked over the seat in front of her and almost squealed with excitement when she saw Toby step up onto the bus. He's dressed in an oversized dark gray hoodie, a pair of dark blue jeans, and a black baseball cap on his head. The cap is slanted down over his right eye. Spencer also noticed he has white earbuds in. As she looked around, she noticed that all the seats are filled up. There's one seat in the back that has one person seated. Ryan Norman is sitting by himself. Ryan's a jerk and Spencer doesn't want Toby sitting with a jerk. So, when Toby was walking passed her, she reached out and grabbed his arm, taking him by surprise when she pulled him down into the seat next to her. He gave her a look and she kept her gaze forward. The teacher made some kind of announcement then they were off.

"Is there a reason why you kidnaped me and forced me to sit here?" Toby asked with a slight smirk.

"It was either sit by me or Ryan the jerk."

Toby looked behind them and saw Ryan in his seat air drumming to the rock music he's listening to. He turned back around and faced Spencer.

"So, you saved me from sitting next to a jerk?"

"Yes, you can thank me anytime now."

He chuckled and said, "well, thank you, but that's the only reason you forced me to sit here."

"Nope," Spencer bent down to pull something out of her bag.

Spencer pulled out some book and held it out to him. Toby took it and examined the title of the book. He squinted his eyes as he struggled to make out the title. It's all in French.

"What is this?" He asked.

"It's the Catcher in The Rye. It helps to read a book you already know in English."

He looked at her, "how do you know I read it?"

"I've seen you with this book a hundred times. You used to read it at lunch everyday back in the 10th grade." Toby kept looking at her. "I swear I'm not some stalker. I've just noticed you before."

"You have?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah. It's not like you're invisible to me."

Hearing that made Toby smile. In the past, he always thought he was invisible to Spencer. She never acknowledged him much in the past. Hearing her say that really brightens his mood.

The bus ride to camp took an hour and twenty-five minutes. When they got to the campsite, all the students were ordered to get off the bus and wait while the teachers check them in. When they were all checked in, they took a hike on one of the trails to get to their camping site. The boys and girls are divided up by a group of trees, so no one can sneak into each others tents. All the teachers that came on the camping trip will be staying in two tents. There is a total of thirty-three students that attended this trip, plus four teachers. The teachers allowed everyone to pick their own people to share a tent with. Since Spencer brought her own tent, she's sleeping by herself. Toby also brought his own tent. His tent was not in good shape that and Spencer noticed. By the looks of the clouds rolling in above, there's a slight chance for some rain tonight. Poor Toby will have to sleep in a tent that has three holes in it.

* * *

Bonfires are usually the best part about camping trips. Everyone is sitting around an open flame telling ghost stories, cooking hot dogs, making s'mores, and just having a grand old time. That's what you think it would be like, but not with these students. Everyone was all sprawled out in their own little groups doing stuff together. Some girls are talking about how their parents forced them to go on this trip and others seem to be enjoying themselves. Spencer sat on a log by herself just staring off into the yellow/ orange flames. She looked around the area searching for Toby. Then she spotted him down by the creek snapping pictures. No one seemed to be down there with him. He's all alone. Spencer grabbed her Rosewood Sharks jacket and headed towards the creek.

Toby held the camera up to his eye and tried focusing the lens on the dark blue mixed with purple and gray clouds. He checked to make sure the view through the lens wasn't blurry, then snapped a pic. Some twigs and dried up leaves snapped behind him when he heard somebody walking up. He thought it was a teacher telling him he can't be down here by himself. He already got yelled at once for heading this way, but ignored the teacher and came here anyway. He turned around to see Spencer standing just a few feets away from him.

"Get any good shots?"

"Uh yeah," he blushed and looked down at his camera. "I got a few good ones."

"Good," a twig snapped when she took a step forward. "It's beautiful here."

"Yeah," he agreed."

"Lots of pretty things out here," she said while looking around.

He looked at her when he said, "there sure is."

"Hey!" Mr. K shouted. "You two aren't supposed to be down here without an adult present."

"Yeah, well, you're eighteen, so technically I'm with an adult right now," Spencer whispered to Toby.

Toby chuckled, "actually I won't be eighteen until March."

"Oh," she said. "I thought you were eighteen already."

"I'm done taking pictures here anyway. We should head back."

She nodded and walked with him back to camp. As it got darker outside, the teachers started pushing everyone to their tents. Spencer watched Toby get inside his and noticed that his tent didn't even zip closed all the way. She looked up at the clouds again and it looks like it might rain any minute now. Miss. Sims snapped at her to get inside before it starts raining. Spencer did as she was told and climbed inside. At ten o'clock it started getting windy. The branches of trees kept making a creaking sound in the wind. Twigs snapping off trees could be heard and the wind kept making a howling noise. It hasn't started raining yet, but by the sounds going on outside it seemed like they are in for a good storm. Spencer hates storms. As a child she there was this creepy looking tree outside her window that would shake violently in the wind during a storm. The thing about that tree is one of the branches looked like a guy hanging from it. When they first moved in Melissa told her that the last person who owned their house hung themselves on that very tree branch. Melissa would say that during storms you would see that dead body swinging from the branch. Spencer knows it was stupid for her to believe, but for a long time it really did scare her. She's been afraid of storms ever since.

A tree branch outside her tent crackled then fell to the ground. That made her jump and hide under her blanket. _Get a grip Hastings._ She should not be scared by storms anymore. She is sixteen years old. She's too old for this. That was until the wind made a moaning sound that nearly made her wet her pants. Spencer scrambled around her tent for her cellphone and looked up someone to call. She can't call one of the girls, because they won't want to drive all the way out here just because she's scared of a little storm. Who else can she call? Spencer continued to scroll through her contact list when she came upon Toby's number. Toby's just right across the line of trees. She could call him, but what if he's asleep? How could he be asleep in that poor tent of his. So, she pressed on her screen and listened to her phone ring. It took five rings for him to answer.

"Hello?"

"Toby," she practically sighed in relief when he answered. "It's Spencer."

"Spencer," he sounded a little groggy. "Why did you call? Did your tent blow over or something?"

"No, well, not yet at least."

"Is everything okay?"

"No. Yes. I mean no. The storm is kind of bugging me a little and I was wondering. Could you maybe sneak over to my tent?" There was a long pause. "Toby?"

"Are-are you sure you want me to come over?"

She fidgeted with the zipper on her sleeping bag and said, "yes, I hate admitting this, but I'm scared."

"Okay, I just have to check to see the coast is clear then I'll come right over."

"Thanks Toby."

From the time they hung up to the time it took Toby to get to her tent seemed forever. She clutched herself under her blanket and listened to branches snapping in the wind and the sound of thunder in the distance. Maybe this camping trip wasn't such a good idea.

"Spencer."

She practically tore the zipper open when she heard Toby's voice on the other side. Once the zipper was open, Toby crawled inside and joined her in her tent. Spencer zipper up her tent and got back under her sleeping bag.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes." Then she heard a tree branch snap in the wind. She shook her head and said, "no, I hate storms."

Toby crawled in closer and sat beside her. The wind kept beating against her tent and the sound of rain made it worse. There was a loud clap of thunder and Spencer jumped closer to Toby. Toby wasn't sure what to do, so he just wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulder. Another clap of thunder and Spencer completely jumped into to Toby's lap. This time he wrapped both of his arms around her and held her more tightly. She shook with fear the whole time. Toby didn't know what to do in order to calm her down, so all he did was hold her and rub soothing circles around her back. It seemed to be working, but now, it's after midnight and she still hasn't gone to sleep yet.

"Hey, Spence," he whispered.

She looked at him, "yeah."

"Maybe you should try sleeping. That will help you get over the storm."

"I could never get to sleep during a storm."

"Just try it. Here," he laid down and pulled her down so half of her body is lying on his chest. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her arms.

"Just try to relax and think about something that makes you feel happy, alright?"

"Alright."

Spencer took a deep breath and relaxed against his chest. She closed her eyes and thought about something that makes her happy. That made her think for a bit. What does make her happy? When was the last time she felt happy? The answer came to her as if she was wrapped in the arms of her happiness. She leaned her head in the space between his side and his arm.

"Toby," she mumbled.

"Yes?"

"Promise me something."

"Okay."

"Don't let me go."

And just like that, she was out like a light. Toby took in her scent and leaned his head against hers. Boy, he never thought this day would come where he would have Spencer Hastings wrapped up in his arms. Even if this is only a one time thing. Or so he thought.

"I promise," he whispered while brushing the brown hair out of her face. "I'll never let you go."

* * *

 **Wasn't that a sweet chapter? A scared Spencer was saved by her knight in shining armour. Well, he wasn't in shining armour, but he certainly did act as her hero and that's only one of many times he will do so. As she will also help him with some things in later chapter. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always don't forget to leave a review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**How is everyone liking this story so far?**

* * *

 **One week later**

The two-day camping trip did a great job of bringing Spencer and Toby closer. They spent pretty much the whole time hanging out. Nobody else in the group seemed to want to hang around them, so they stuck together. Now that they're back in Rosewood, Spencer went back to her cool friends and Toby went back to his miserable life. They still hang out when they study together, but it's not like how it was on the trip.

It's Sunday afternoon and Spencer is out shopping with her friends Alison, Emily, and Aria. Hanna is off with Caleb somewhere. The four girls came to the mall today for the Macy's one day sale. Alison doesn't really like shopping at Macy's, but that's where the other girls wanted to go and she didn't want to be stuck home doing nothing. Later tonight Alison has plans with her cooler friends. Emily and Aria are invited to go, so was Spencer, but she has a test to study for.

"What do you guys think of these shoes?" Aria asked.

Aria came out wearing black and white zebra stripe boots that go half way up her calf. They're high heel boots and go great with Aria's zebra top.

"They look great on you Aria," Spencer said.

"Those shoes are super cute," Emily added.

"That just adds to your animal clothing collection," Alison said.

Aria smiled and decided to get those boots. Emily shopped around for a bit and bought a bunch of cute scarfs and hats. Alison bought some kind of French perfume. Spencer bought two skirts and a pair of black jeans. When they purchased all of their stuff, all the girls walked out to Spencer's car. She dropped the girls off at Alison's house then went to her own. When she got up to her bedroom, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Hanna breathed out.

"Hey, Hanna," Spencer replied.

"Caleb is taking me out tonight and Andrew called and wondered if you want to double date with us."

Spencer groaned and said, "no, Hanna. I rather stay home alone than go out with Andrew."

"Fine," Hanna chuckled. "Just thought I'd ask. I don't know why you won't give Andrew a chance. He's smart, cute, and funny. He seems to really like you."

"Your forgot that Andrew's a total jerk."

"Come on, Spencer he's not so bad."

"I couldn't even go if I wanted to. My parents will be home later tonight and I'm still grounded. I'm lucky they never found out about me going on that camping trip."

"Oh, yeah, how was the camping trip?" Hanna asked. "You never really talked about it."

"It was fun."

Spencer smiled thinking about those two days. She spent most her time with Toby. Spencer worked with Toby on French and he worked with her on Physics. They also went fishing together in the creek next to the campsite. Together they managed to catch a largemouth bass. Spencer joked and said they should name it Noel. That made them laugh for a long time. They also sat by the fire sharing ghost stories. On that last night Toby stayed with Spencer inside her tent again. It wasn't storming that night she just really liked having Toby there.

"It was really fun," Spencer repeated.

"Well, good, I'm glad you had a good time."

"I did."

"So, I guess I should let you go now."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you at school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay bye, Spencer."

"Bye, Hanna."

Spencer hung up her phone then tossed it on the bed. It's only 7:30 and her parents won't be home until 8. She's kind of hungry and there's not much food in the house. Maybe she could order Chinese food. That's just what she did. Spencer spent the evening working on her homework while she ate her dinner. Just like she suspected, Mrs. Hastings came home at 8. She walked in to find Spencer sitting at the couch working on her French homework. Spencer looked up at her mother and all she did was give her a dirty look. Veronica walked across the living room then up the stairs. Yup, good to be home. Tonight will be another long night for Spencer. She still has to type up her English paper and finish her Physics homework. It's already after midnight. If she wants to get all of this done, she'll have to pull an all-nighter. Spencer walked over to her nightstand and pulled out her drawer, There rolling around is her little orange pill bottle. She picks up the container and dumps two tablets out on the palm of her hands then swallows them dry. She puts the cap back on then hides the pills in the drawer. She should be good for a few hours.

On Monday, Toby dragged himself out of bed and down the stairs. His whole body hurts after being thrown around by his dad the other night. Last night his father came home after a long day to a fridge with no beer. Mr. Cavanaugh was furious. He chucked Toby's phone against the wall and he chucked Toby against the wall a couple times too. Luckily Toby only received a few bruises on his arms. He's also limping a little when he walks. When he walked down stairs, his father was passed out on the couch with five or six beer bottles lying around. By the time Toby reached the bottom step, there was a loud honking noise outside his house. He limped over to the front door and opened it. There is Spencer parked out on his street waiting for him. What could she be doing here? Usually, she just gives him rides home. She's never picked him up before. Then he noticed that it's sprinkling a little bit. Toby chuckled to himself and walked out to her car.

"Hey," she said to him while he slipped in the passenger's seat.

"Hi," he smiled shyly.

She held up a light brown bag and a cup of coffee.

"I brought coffee and cronuts."

"What the hell is a cronut?" He asked.

"Haven't you ever heard?" She asked. She stepped on the brake when he shook his head. "It's what all the kids are having no a days. It's a part croissant and part donut it's all trans fat."

"Wow," he said. "That sounds absolutely disgusting."

She giggled and pulled out of his driveway. They made small talk the whole way to school. They mostly talked about the French test. Spencer quizzed him on a few phrases and he got them all but one right. The rain fell at a steady paced by the time they got to school. Toby's lucky Spencer swinged by to give him a lift. Spencer put the car in park then the both got out, making sure to bring all of their stuff with them. They walked up to the front door together not bothering to take notice that Andrew is standing on the other side of the parking lot watching them with a scowl on his face.

When lunch time came around, Spencer went on like every other day. She went through the lunch line and got her salad and sat with her friends. Aria, Hanna, and Emily were already sitting at the table when Spencer sat done. They greeted her with a smile.

"Hey, Spencer," Aria said.

"Hi."

"Where were you this morning?" Aria asked.

"What do you mean? I was at school," Spencer said.

"No, I mean how come you didn't meet us for coffee this morning."

"Oh, I was running late, so I got coffee to go."

"We saw you show up to school with that one freak," Hanna said.

Spencer stabbed her lettuce and glared up at Hanna, "what do you mean, Hanna?"

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't Hanna."

"You showed up to school with that freak Toby CavaNobody."

Spencer slammed her fork down and said, "okay, first of all, it's Cavanaugh and second, Toby is not a freak."

"What were you doing with him?" Emily asked trying to soften the mood.

"I drove by him while driving to school and it was raining so I offered to give him a ride to school," Spencer answered.

"But why?" Hanna made a face. "Weren't you worried someone would see you with him?"

"No."

Before Hanna could make another snarky remark, the bell rang. They girls stood up and walked down the hallway together. When they got to Emily's locker, Noel, Andrew, and Alison walked down the hall and they were all laughing about something.

"What's going on?" Aria asked them.

Alison couldn't stop giggling.

"Just watch what happens when freak Toby opens his locker," Noel snickered.

"What did you do?" Spencer asked sharply.

"Watch," Andrew said.

They looked down the hall just in time to see Toby walking up to his locker. Toby put in his combination and opened his locker. When he opened his locker, loads of whip cream dripped out his locker and splattered all over the floor. The whipped cream got all over the place. It got on his shoes, his jeans, and even a little on his shirt. He looked up at his locker and saw that all of his books and papers are covered in whipped cream. His paper for English is in there as well. He dug through his cream covered locker and pulled out his English notebook that his English paper was stuck in. The notebook is coated in the whipped cream and so is his English paper. Toby wondered who did this to his locker. That's when he heard the obnoxious laughing coming from down the hall. He looked up and caught site of Alison, Noel, Andrew, and all of their friends laughing. Pretty soon the whole school joined in on the laughter. Everyone is laughing, expect Spencer wasn't. By the shocked look on her face, he could pretty much tell that she had nothing to do with this. Toby shut his locker and turned down the hall.

Spencer stood back and watched the dirty trick play out on Toby. All of his books are covered in whipped cream. She's totally disgusted with his friends for doing something so mean. They've done a lot of mean things to Toby before, but messing with his school work. Spencer turned around and gave her friends a harsh look.

"Why the hell did you do that?" She snapped.

"Oh come on, Spencer," Andrew chuckled. "It was just a joke."

"And how would you like it if someone ruined something you worked hard on?" Spencer challenged.

"It was just his locker, Spencer," Noel said.

"You guys are such jerks."

"Why are you getting so worked up over this?" Alison asked.

"Yeah, we've done mean things to that freak before," Andrew said.

"Toby is not a freak and I think it's time you gave Toby a break."

Noel laughed, "nah, I don't think so. It's way too much fun."

Spencer sneered at them and walked down the hall. She is beyond pissed that they would do something like that. After school let out, Spencer searched the halls for Toby, but it looked like he left already. She sighed and opened up her locker. An arm came up to rest above her and she senses the presence of an unwanted guest.

"Got a minute?" Andrew asked.

"Not for you I don't," Spencer replied bitterly while pulling books out of her locker.

"Oh come on, you're not still bitter about what we did to that freak are you?"

"Hey, it's not nice to call Noel a freak," Spencer joked a little.

Andrew ignored her comment, "all we did was pull a harmless prank against freak Toby."

"You did not," she snapped. "That was not a harmless prank. You wrecked his English paper that's worth 50% of his grade. That was not harmless. By doing that you may have ruined his grade and that hurts people."

"Why do you care so much about that freak anyway?"

She glared at him, "Toby is not a freak! Stop calling him that."

Spencer shut her locker and tried walking away. Andrew stepped in front of her to stop her from leaving.

"I'm sorry, Spencer."

"No, you're not," she sneered.

"If you want we can get some coffee and you can tell me how stupid I was."

"I do not want to get coffee with you, Andrew. I don't want to go anywhere with you. Ever."

Andrew grabbed her by her arm and pulled her back.

"Don't say no to me until you give us a chance."

"There will never be an us."

"We we're made to be together, Spencer. You know we're made for each other! The whole school knows it!"

"We're not made for each other, Andrew!" She snapped.

"Just be my girlfriend already. Come on, Spencer I'll do anything in return."

"Anything?" She questioned.

"Whatever it is you want, I'll do it. I'll get everyone to stop picking on that freak if that's what you want!" He exclaimed.

"Toby," she replied. "His name is Toby and only Toby. Do not call him freak anymore!"

"Okay," he said. "If you agree to be my girlfriend, I promise to never pick on Toby or call him a freak ever again and I'll get everyone to stop messing with him."

"You promise?"

He nodded and he almost seemed sincere, "I promise. Toby will never face another problem as long as he's at this school. I can make his pain and suffering go away if you be my girlfriend. If you be my girlfriend, Toby gets left alone. Do we have a deal?"

Spencer bit her lip and thought about it. She thought about how tired she is seeing Toby look so broken all the time. She thought about how much it pains her to see him so miserable. She thought about how much better Toby's life could be if everyone would just leave him alone. If she agrees to this she could be stuck with Andrew for a long time. Then she'd be miserable. Will that all be worth it to get people to leave Toby alone?

* * *

 **Will Spencer go along with Andrew's deal? Find out next chapter. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back with another chapter! Hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

Ever noticed how the sky appears darker when things go wrong in life? In a movie every time a character dies or gets cheated on, or broken up with. Whatever heartbreaking reason, it always seems to rain. In the movies, it just rains and rains and rains until something good happens. When the movie gets all happy and cheerful, the sun comes out and the gray clouds float away. Though it may not always be like that in real life. The weather doesn't always match your mood. In Toby's case, it almost seems that way. He spent another day getting picked on at school only to come home and get pushed around by his dad some. Later that afternoon gray clouds rolled in and it started to rain. Toby couldn't help but feel like that poor guy you see in the movies.

"Toby, your English teacher called just a few minutes ago," Mr. Cavanaugh grumbled while sitting on the couch.

Toby sighed and knew what this is about. His teacher called to inform his dad that Toby failed to turn in his English paper on time. He can turn it in tomorrow for a lower grade, but any later than that and he gets a zero for the paper. Toby figured his dad would be upset about that when he found out.

"Why didn't you turn in your paper?"

"These kids at school put some whipped cream in my locker and it got all over everything. It got all over my school books and all my papers and homework assignments. I couldn't turn in my paper when it was all covered up in whipped cream. The ink got smudged and the paper was all ripped up. You could barely tell what it said."

Mr. Cavanaugh stood up and threw his drink in Toby's face. Toby flinched as beer crept his way into his eyes and down his face.

"Dammit, Toby! You are so weak! No wonder everyone keeps making you their punching bag. You're nothing but a worthless piece of crap. I wish you were never born!" He yelled.

Mr. Cavanaugh walked through the kitchen at out the back door. Toby sat back on the chair and started thinking. Maybe it is his fault everyone keeps beating on him. He never really does much to stop people. _I wish you were never born!_ 'So do I' he thought to himself. Toby got off the couch and went into the kitchen to get cleaned up. After he washed the beer out of his shirt he went upstairs to take a shower. When he got out of the shower, he put on a dark blue long-sleeve shirt and a pair of black basketball shorts. He minus well shave while he's in here. He spread some shaving cream on his face, picked up the razor off the side of the sink, and started shaving the sides of his face.

It took him about fifteen minutes to shave. When he was finished, he wiped his face with a soft, blue towel, then hung it back on the towel rack. He took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He stared at his reflection and tried to see someone worth wild. Who is that man staring back at him? Is there anything special about him? He doesn't have his mom around. He has no friends. His father hates him. Everyone in town hates him. Does he have anything to live for? If he doesn't have anything to live for then why is he still living? He opened up the medicine cabinet and saw a full bottle of pills for depression. His father's doctor subscribed him the pills after Marion Cavanaugh died. Of course, his dad never used them. Toby unscrewed the cap and dumped out a few tablets out on the palm of his hand. He took a deep breath, tilted his head back, and swallowed those pills dry.

* * *

As soon as Spencer got through with her homework, she pulled out her phone and tried to call Toby. She texted him a few times when she got out of school, but he didn't respond. When he failed to answer for the third time, she grabbed her jacket and ran out to her car. It rained the whole drive over to Toby's house. She pulled up into his driveway, got out of her car, and quickly walked up his front porch steps.

"Toby," she knocked on the door a couple times. "Toby, are you there?"

She knocked again. He still wouldn't answer. Something Isn't right. She turned the doorknob and was surprised to see it unlocked. The door creaked as she opened it slowly and stepped inside. She looked down the hall into the kitchen, but no one seems to be in there. She grabbed the stair rail and slowly crept up the stairs.

"Toby."

She reached the second floor and walked down the hall to his bedroom. He opened it, but his room was empty. That's strange. He should be home. He's not downstairs, he's not in the kitchen, he's not in his room. Where could he be? She walked down the hall a little and knocked on the closed bathroom door. She called out his name twice and he didn't answer. Spencer almost turned around to leave, but something inside of her told her something's wrong. She twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. She looked down at the floor and gasped.

"Toby!"

Toby was lying passed out on the bathroom floor and he was barely breathing. There's a bunch of pills all over the floor and a half empty pill bottle. Spencer rushed into the bathroom and kneeled down beside Toby. She lifted his head up and rested it on her lap. She checked his pulse to make sure he's still alive. He is, she sighed in relief and pulled out her phone to call 911. After she got off the phone with the paramedics, she stayed by Toby's side until they got here praying to god that he wouldn't die.

" _Dr. Ross!" A nurse called out._

 _Dr. Ross came over, "what is it, nurse?"_

" _The patient in 212 Isn't responding to the medical treatment and his heart rate is rather low."_

 _A thirteen-year-old Spencer bent her knees and sat back in her waiting chair. She came here after hearing about her stepbrother Jason overdosing on antidepressants. Her dad would be furious if she knew she was here right now. Spencer's not supposed to know that Jason's her stepbrother, but she found out from Jason himself. Part of Spencer always wondered why the kid next door was protective over her. Her friends even thought Spencer had a crush on Jason at one point. She never did. Her whole life, it's always been like a brother vibe. Plus, Jason is like five years older than her. Ever since Spencer learned the truth about Jason being her stepbrother, she was relieved. She was relieved to know that she had someone in the family that actually gave a damn about her. Jason was the one she told all of her problems too and he would give her advice on how to handle them. Jason remembered her birthday every year and he even gave her a present. For example that gold chain necklace with a heart shaped charm, Jason got that for Spencer on her thirteenth birthday, which was two months ago. She wears it all the time._

 _A few minutes later a doctor with short white/gray hair came out wearing a white lab coat. He looked down at his clipboard then looked around the room._

" _Uh, is there anyone here for Jason Dilaurentis?"_

 _Spencer stopped biting on the nail of her thumb and stood up. Her brown hair was put together in a messy french braid._

" _I'm his sister. Well, stepsister."_

" _You look a little young," the doctor pointed out. "Is anyone else here with you?"_

" _Um, my dad was here," she lied. "But he had to run to his office and he probably won't be back for awhile. Could you tell me what's going on with my brother, please?"_

 _The doctor sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry. We did everything we could to save him, but Jason took way too many pills. His heart shut down as soon as the paramedics got him here and it all went downhill from there. I'm sorry, but Jason didn't make it. He's gone."_

 _Spencer clasped her hand over her mouth and tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. She nodded at the doctor and turned back to sit down. The doctor left and Spencer sat out in the waiting from sobbing uncontrollably. The only person who has ever cared about her is gone._

* * *

A distant sound of a phone ringing echoed through the lobby of Rosewood Park View Hospital. Spencer sat in the waiting room gnawing at her fingernails. It's been almost an hour and she hasn't heard a word about how Toby's doing. The paramedics got Toby to the hospital as fast as they could. A nurse told her that they wouldn't know anything for sure for awhile. That left Spencer with nothing to do but wait. She was appalled and angry to find that Toby's father was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't at the house to keep a close eye on Toby and he's not here now. Spencer feels his father should be here. He's just like her own parents. If this was Spencer's life lying on the table, they wouldn't be here either. If they got a call that she was in the hospital, they wouldn't drop their coffee cups and run to her side. They wouldn't even blink an eye. A nurse with short blonde hair and soft green eyes wearing light green scrubs came out.

"Excuse me," she spoke softly.

"Yes?" Spencer sat up.

"Um, I"m looking for Mr. Cavanaugh. I have some news about Toby.

 _Oh, god_. Spencer's heart dropped. Spencer figured it's something bad based off the tone in the blonde nurses tone.

"Toby's father Isn't here. I wouldn't count on him showing up anytime soon. I however, am a friend of Toby's. I know you're not supposed to give information to non-family members, but I maybe the only person here for Toby."

The nurse sighed, "okay. Dr. Roffman was able to revived Toby. He checked Toby out and he seems to be doing fine. Dr. Roffman thinks Toby will be just fine as long as he stays away from those pills. Right now Toby is sleeping, but you can go in if you want."

"Thank you," Spencer said.

The nurse smiled and nodded, "no problem. He's down in room 212."

Spencer stood up then froze once she realized what number that nurse just said. Toby's in room 212. That's the same room her brother died in just two and a half years ago. She clutched her purse and hesitantly walked to his room. She got to the entrance of his room and stopped. There Toby was sleeping peacefully on his bed. He's lying the exact same way Jason did when he was here. Only this time Toby's chest is moving indicating that he's alive. Spencer took a deep breath then walked the few steps over to his bedside and sat down on the chair. She set her purse down and leaned forward to take his hand. She just sat there holding his hand while looking at him with sad watery eyes.

Another hour passed by and it's getting late. The sun started setting when she found Toby lying on the floor of his bathroom. Now it's almost midnight. From the moment she entered this room, she never left his side. She almost dozed off a couple times, but she wants to be awake when he wakes up. The clock was just changing from 11:59 pm to 12:00 am when it happened. First, two of his fingers moved back and forth a couple times. Then, his hand moved a fraction of an inch along the sheet. Next, his eyelids fluttered a few times before he managed to open them all the way. He just happened to open his eyes and stare right into the bright light hanging above his head. He groaned and flinched his eyes closed. Spencer heard a groan coming from him and looked up. He's awake.

"Oh, thank god," she sighed in relief.

Toby was surprised to see Spencer here. He's more surprised to see that he's still alive. He thought for sure taking those pills would be the end of him.

"Spencer," his voice came out in a husky whisper.

She leaned forward and held his one hand with both of hers.

"You scared the crap out of me," she said.

"What happened?"

"I tried calling you all afternoon, but you weren't answering, so I got worried and came over. When I got to your house I felt like something was running. I'm lucky I got there when I did otherwise you might've been…"

Spencer choked up a bit and couldn't even finish that sentence. All of a sudden Toby felt guilty. He didn't even think about how Spencer would feel about this situation.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Toby what on earth were you thinking? Why would you try to kill yourself?"

He fiddled with his hospital blanket and said, "I didn't think anyone cared about me."

"I care about you!" She shouted no louder than a whisper. "Dammit, Toby I thought I lost you."

"I didn't mean to worry you. I just couldn't see anything in life worth living, so I figured if there's nothing to live for then why live?"

"How about the chance at having a great future? Who knows where you could end up in say ten years or even five? Maybe you'll have a successful job, meet a nice girl, and settle down with her. Maybe even have a couple kids. Toby there is so much life has to offer you and you're never going to know if you don't live to see it happen. My heart got broken tonight seeing one of my closes friends lying unconscious on his bathroom floor. I thought I was going to lose you tonight. That really scared me, Toby."

"I'm sorry," he said for the millionth time, which was really only the third time. "I wasn't thinking clearly and I didn't know what to do. I didn't know who to call or what to say."

"Toby if you ever need someone to talk to you can call me. I want you to know that. I need you to know that. If you ever get the urge to do something stupid like this again, I want you to promise me that you will call me. Please, Toby, I can't lose you too."

Toby looked up and his heart broke at the stray tears rolling down her cheeks. He never thought he had someone wanting to look out for him. Now, he has. Spencer Hastings really does care about him. Who would thought she'd be the one to care about him? Certainly not him. After spending many years crushing on her from afar,Spencer is finally showing her concern for him. He squeezed her hand and said.

"I promise."

* * *

 **How sad and cute was that chapter? Be honest, did I scare you all a little? I sincerely apologized if I did. Rather or not Spencer decided to accept Andrew's deal will come out next chapter. Keep reading and leave a review. (:**


	10. Chapter 10

**I have to be honest. I'm a little disappointed that there weren't many reviews last chapter. Hopefully, this one is better. Most of this chapter is Spoby and Spencer has a brief interaction with Toby's dad and she's not a happy camper.**

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Sunlight streamed into Toby's hospital room. He stood at his bedside packing all of his stuff in a bag that Spencer allowed him to borrow. Spencer will be in at any minute to give him a ride home. He's not really looking forward to going back home to his father, but he is looking forward to being in the car with Spencer for a good twenty minutes. Knock. Knock. Toby looked up and smiled at the brown haired beauty standing outside his door. Her brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail and her lips are coated with a soft red lip shine. Her dark gray blazer is covered by her white and black polka dot jacket and a pair of black pants. She has a brown satchel like bag hanging around her shoulder down her side.

"Hey," she smiled while stepping into the room. "You almost ready?"

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for my nurse to bring in my discharge papers, so I can leave."

"Okay."

A moment later, the nurse came in with his papas. Toby signed them then he walked with Spencer out to her car. Spencer smiled when he opened her car door for her. He circled around and climbed into the passenger's seat. They pulled out of the parking lot and took the highway home. During the whole ride home, Toby would steal glances of Spencer when she wasn't looking. She would also look at him when he was staring out the window. One time Toby looked at her while she was looking at him. He smiled and she turned away blushing. They pulled up into Toby's driveway a little after 10 am. Spencer walked up with him to his room and sat on his bed while he unpacked his stuff.

"Where's your father?" She asked out of curiosity.

Spencer noticed that his dad didn't even show up while Toby was in the hospital. She stayed with him all night until the sun came up. Not once did Mr. Cavanaugh bother to come in and check on his son. Spencer was appalled by the fact that his father didn't even care to make sure that he's alive. She doesn't know what Toby's relationship with his father is like, but she's guessing it's not too good. Toby avoiding eye contact when she asked that question.

"He probably had something more important to do," is all he has to say about that.

"He didn't even bother to check on his son who could've died."

"It's fine, Spencer. What my father does is more important than my well-being."

"I disagree. Nothing is more important than knowing if your son is alright. Especially when it's someone like you."

"You'd be the first to think like that."

Toby finished putting his clothes away and walked over to his bedroom window. Spencer watched him move around his model cars. She stood off the bed and walked over to him. Toby felt her presence without even having to turn around. Spencer noticed how he tensed up a little when she touched the back of his shoulder. Toby opened his mouth to say something but before any words came out, Spencer was pulling him in and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. Toby stood there for a second not knowing what to do at first. Nobody's ever hugged him like this. Actually, he's never been hugged before. Spencer leaned into his chest and inhaled deeply. He's never been hugged before, but he likes it. He finally responds to the hug and wraps his arms around her. He leaned his head down a bit to rest on her shoulder. Spencer didn't pull away when he did so. Instead, she reached up with her hand and stroked the back of his head.

After being wrapped up for a few minutes, Toby wondered how long this hug was going to last. Not that he wanted to let go. He was about to speak again until he felt something wet fall on his t-shirt. It took him a few seconds to realize that she's crying. Spencer inhaled deeply and more tears continued to fall down her cheeks and onto his shirt. He's not sure what to do, so he just rubbed his hands up and down her back and held her closer.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled.

She loosened her grip around him and leaned her head off his chest to look at him. Her eyes are all red and puffy, and the tear stains on her cheeks appear visible. His arms are still wrapped loosely around her waist.

"It's okay," he said.

She whipped her cheeks and sniffled once more, "it's just…" She stopped to calm herself. "I thought I lost you. When I walked into that bathroom and I saw you on the floor I thought you were…"

She stopped herself as tears rolled down her cheeks again. Toby pulled her back in and hugged her with much more feeling than their last hug. She sniffled and cried into his chest for a few minutes. When she finally calmed down, Toby walked them over to his bed. They sat next to each other with his arm around her and her head on his shoulder.

"What time do you have to be home?" He asked after a while.

The time has passed and it's now later in the day. Toby is leaning back against his headboard, and Spencer is sitting Chris-crossed on the other end of his bed. She has his French book opened up in her lap. For the past hour, she's been teaching him some new phrases in French. Actually, she's teaching him how to insult people in French. After spending the morning in tears, Toby managed to make her laugh with his attempt to speak French just as well as she does.

"Okay," Spencer laughed while wiping away her tears from laughing so hard. "This is my favorite thing to say. It goes like this, Merci pour la pointe, stupide."

Toby laughed, "what does that even mean?"

"It means thanks for the tip, stupid. I say that when somebody either states the obvious or gives me useless advice."

"I'll have to remember that one."

They both jumped when they heard a crackle of thunder echo across the sky. Spencer checked the time and it's almost 3 in the afternoon. Her parents will be home in an hour, but they're leaving for D.C at 9 tonight.

"What time do you have to be home?" Toby asked.

"Before 4 o'clock. I don't have to leave just yet."

"Maybe you should go before it starts raining," he suggested while looking out at the dark cloud rolling in.

He would like her to stay, but at the same time he doesn't want her to be here when her father gets home. Who knows what he'll do when he finds Spencer here. One time after Spencer left, Toby's father got angry that she stayed for so long. He told Toby that she wasn't allowed back after that day. Of course, he ignored his father's ridiculous rule and had her over anyway, but usually she would be gone before his father got home.

"I kind of wanted to stay the night if that's okay with you. I want to make sure you're okay."

Toby's heart warmed at the gesture, but she can't stay. He doesn't want to risk his father hurting her. When Mr. Cavanaugh is sober, he's a little but more controllable over his actions, but when he's drunk, there's no telling what he'll do.

"That's very nice of you to want to stay, but I promise I'll be fine. I won't do anything tonight, I promise. You should go before your parents get home and worry about where you are."

Spencer huffed a laugh, "they wouldn't be worried about me."

"I want you to stay," he admitted. "But for your own protection you should go."

"Okay," she sighed and stood up.

Toby sighed and watched her put on her jacket. He always hates watching her leave. It's always the hardest part of the day. She comes over and they have a great time. It all ends when she puts on her jacket. Spencer straps her bag over her shoulder and turns around.

"Hey, Toby, can I ask you something?"

He nodded. She bit her lip and took a step closer.

"What would you think if you saw me walking down the halls holding hands with Andrew?"

Toby's stomach twirled at the thought. Honestly, he wouldn't like it at all. Not just because he's in love with her, but because Andrew just Isn't a good guy. He wouldn't be good for Spencer. Andrew is a cocky-ass, bad boy, and he doesn't know how to treat other people right. If Spencer dated him, Toby's sure that Andrew would treat Spencer horrible.

"Why do you ask?" He looked away from her.

"Because you're my friend and your opinion matters to me. You also seem to have a pretty good judgement of character and if you told me that Andrew is wrong for me, well I would take that under consideration if Andrew ever asked me out again."

With a heavy heart, Toby said this, "if you like Andrew then it's okay for you to like him back, but in all honesty, you deserve better. You can date whoever you want, but I worry that if you date him he'll only end up hurting you." He looked at her this time. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

She smiled softly and touched his shoulder, "you're a good guy, Toby."

She kissed his cheek then walked out of his room and down the hall towards the stairs. Toby sat back and felt a throbbing sensation in his cheek. Not the throbbing he feels after he gets hit or slapped, but a different feeling. His whole face is heating up and his heart is racing. Something inside Toby tells him that Spencer will be the death of him. Maybe it won't be his father's abuse that kills him or the bullies at school or himself that causes his death. Maybe it will be Spencer Hastings.

Spencer couldn't stop smiling after all the fun she's had today with Toby. It started out with tears and ended with laughter. Only Toby can change her mood in a blink of an eye. One minute she was close to bawling, the next she was in tears from laughing so hard. She made it halfway down the stairs when her phone beeped. She smiled at the text Toby sent her. _Date Andrew? Non._ She laughed to herself. The smile left her face when she reached the bottom step just as Mr. Cavanaugh was walking in. Mr. Cavanaugh paused when he saw her. They looked at each other for a moment before one of them spoke. Anger filled Spencer's eyes when she saw him.

"What are you doing here?" The older man demanded.

She crossed her arms and said, "doing something you weren't. Making sure Toby's okay."

"What do you mean?" He scuffled.

"He could've died you know? While you were out doing god knows what, he could've died and you would have lost the best son anyone could ever ask for."

"I don't have time to talk," he turned away. "Get out of my house."

Spencer wanted to stay back and argue. She wanted to slap that man hard across his face. Doing so wouldn't help Toby. Instead, she clenched her hand around the strap on her bag and walked towards the open door that Mr. Cavanaugh held open for her.

"Toby's doing fine right now, by the way," she paused in the doorway. "Thanks for your concern for him. It's much appreciated."

With that, she walked out of the Cavanaugh's house with her head held high. Mr. Cavanaugh grumbled and shut the door behind her. How dare some foolish girl come in here and tell him how to raise his son. Toby's a big boy and he can look out for himself. He doesn't need a guardian to make sure he doesn't burn his hands. Toby watched Spencer walk down his drive from his bedroom window. As soon as she disappeared, he heard the sound of his father's footsteps marching up the stairs. He took a deep breath in anticipation of what's about to happen. He knows what's going to happen. His father saw Spencer leave here. Toby disobeyed him. Of course he's going to get punished for it. Toby took another deep breath when his door opened up behind him.

"I told you not to haver her over anymore," his father growled.

The first blow went to the back of his head followed by many more after that. His father hit him until all he could see was black.

The Hasting's left for D.C just thirty minutes ago. After they left, Spencer walked out into the cold, late night air. She walked down the long grable road until she showed up to her destination. When she showed up, she never expected what she just witnessed.

* * *

 **I was going to add more, but I decided to put that into next chapter. Plus, I gotta give you all something to look forward to next chapter. Where do you think Spencer went? What happened? What did she just witness? Review and share your thoughts. I'm sending a sneak peek to whoever reviews this chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's another update for ya. Hope you like it. Here you will find out what Spencer witnessed.**

* * *

Toby worried when Spencer didn't show up the next morning to pick him up for school. He waited for her all morning, but she never showed. He ended up walking to school. Luckily it's sunny out, so he didn't get rained on. Noel did drive passed him in his big truck, with Alison in the passenger's seat along with Aria, Hanna, Emily, Andrew, and Caleb all piled up in the back. He didn't see Spencer with them in the truck, so he figured she drove herself to school. When he got to school, Spencer's car wasn't in her normal parking spot. A feeling of uneasy tugged on his heartstrings. Something's not right. After Toby's beating last night he almost didn't show up to school himself. Unlike beatings he's had in the past, his father avoided hitting him in the face where bruises can be seen. Instead, he gave him a good beating in his lower abdomen. Now, he has a bruise there and it hurts every time he breathes.

He got to French class and Spencer has yet to show up. The teacher walked in and Toby swear her face fell when she noticed that Spencer wasn't sitting in her seat. Spencer seems to be the only one in class who knows what the teacher is talking about. Maybe she has an appointment this morning and is running late. The teacher began and everyone took out their notebooks. Toby had trouble comprehending what she was saying. Spencer's not here to whisper the answers to him like she normally does. The bell rang for the end of first period and Spencer still hasn't shown up yet. Toby gathered all of his books and walked out. During passing period after second, Toby walked passed the front doors and saw Spencer's car parked in the parking lot. She's here now, but where is she? He hasn't seen her all morning. Maybe she'll be at lunch. Toby walked into the lunch room. Nope, she wasn't there. He walked out of the cafeteria to avoid being harassed. When he passed by the restrooms, he heard someone sniffling in the ladies room. He stopped and waited for the sound to come again. Two more sniffles. He gasped. That sounds like Spencer.

Has she been in the bathroom all day crying? Why haven't any of her friends gone looking for her yet? Have they not noticed that she hasn't been around all morning? He wanted to knock on the door to check on her, but that would be weird. He decided to wait for her to come out. That could take all day. The bell rang for the end of lunch and Spencer still didn't emerge from the bathroom. He saw a group of girls heading towards the bathroom and split. The end of the day came and now's his last chance to catch Spencer before she leaves. He heard from some people that she showed up for the fifth period but wasn't acting like herself. He left his fifth period and moved quickly through the halls to find Spencer before she leaves. He got closer to her locker and sighed when she saw she wasn't there. He was about to turn away until she saw the curly brunette digging her way through the crowd trying to get to her locker.

She wore baggy clothing. Like some dark sweatpants, a red hoodie, and a blue baseball cap on her head. Her hat is kind of tilted down over her face. Her normally perfect hair is a mess of curls. Toby took a deep breath and walked up to her.

"Spencer."

"Hi," she whispered without looking to meet his gaze.

She kept her body away from him, eyes forward, and head down. Toby wondered what is going on.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," she squeaked.

Spencer finished gathering her stuff then shut her locker. She made a quick attempt to get away before Toby could say anything else, but she wasn't that quick. Toby followed her out to the parking lot and caught her before she made it to her car.

"I have to go," she said while keeping her head down.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Spencer."

She stopped fighting against him and turned her body halfway towards him. She took a deep breath and slowly lifted her head up to meet his gaze. Toby gasped when he saw her face. The right side of her face is a dark blue, purple color and part of her right eyes is dark blue. The spot around her black eyes is a little red.

"Spencer, what happened."

"I had an accident," she sniffled.

"On the way to school?"

"No," she paused. "It happened last night."

Toby got a closer look and recognized the mark on her face is in the shape of the palm of someone's hand. Somebody hit her. His first thought was that his dad hit her when she saw her leaving the other day. The thought of his father touching her makes him angry. If it was his father who hit her, he most likely would have known that.

"Who did that to you?" He asked.

"No, one."

He gave her a look, "Spencer, I've seen those kind of marks before. Now, who did that to you?"

Her bottom lip quivered, "it was Andrew."

 _After Spencer's parents left, she slipped out into the cold night and made her way down the gravel road. She texted Andrew and asked him to meet her at the park so they could talk._ _ **Sure thing, Buttercake. I'm glad to see you've made up your mind about our little deal. (-;**_ _Spencer looked at the text and gulped. Andrew is not going to be happy when he hears what she has to say. She walked on to the playground and stood waiting for Andrew to show up._

" _You look hot in the streetlight," Andrew spoke up behind her making Spencer's skin crawl._

 _Her arms are covered in goosebumps. She turned around to face him. Andrew stood there with a smug grin on his face. He took a step closer to her and she took a step back._

" _Thanks for meeting me here," she said._

" _Thanks for finally calling. I'm guessing you've made up your mind about our little deal. You date me and my friends leave that sissy boy alone."_

" _I've been thinking about your offer and I noticed something. You said you would make sure that your friends leave Toby alone, but what about you?" She challenged._

 _He shrugged, "What about me?"_

" _Are you going to leave Toby alone?"_

" _That was part of the deal, wasn't it?" He questioned her questioning him._

" _You never said that."_

 _Andrew sighed, "well, are you taking me up on my deal or not?"_

" _Not," she simply stated._

 _Andrew chuckled and had to do a double take, "what?"_

" _You heard me, I said no."_

" _I can't believe you won't agree to date me in return for me to make sure that people leave Toby alone."_

" _I've been thinking that as long as Toby as me by his side, he won't need you. You and your friends can't keep beating on him. For now on you will leave him alone."_

" _Why do you care about that creep so much!?" He growled._

" _Toby is not a creep! He's actually very nice and like other people he has feelings. You can't keep pushing him around the way you do! I'm not going to let that happen. Not anymore."_

 _Andrew's eyes widen when he came to a relation, "it's because of him."_

" _What's because of him?" She asked._

" _He's the reason you won't agree to date me, Isn't it? You like him, don't you? That's why you won't go out with me. I can't believe that you are falling for that, that freak!"_

" _Will you shut up," she snapped. "This has nothing to do with me. This is about making sure you are anybody else hurts Toby again."_

" _Not going to happen," he snarled. "As long as that guy comes near you, I'll tear him apart. He's creeping his way into my girl's' heart and I ain't about to let that happen!"_

" _I'm not your girl!" She yelled. "I will never be your girl! Ever."_

" _Why do you want him anyway? Toby's nothing but a worthless piece of shit. He should do the world a favor and drop dead!"_

 _Andrew roared with laughed after he said that. Spencer's face turned red with anger. The image of seeing Toby passed out in his bathroom crossed her mind. Her eyes almost watered at the memory. Andrew stopped laughing when he felt the sting of her hand crash into his left cheek. Andrew held his throbbing cheek and looked back at Spencer who was burning daggers at him with her eyes. Andrew's chest rose and fell with anger. He clenched his teeth together and struck Spencer with the back of his hand. Spencer yelped and felt the fresh tears stream down her face. When she looked up, Andrew was walking away. Spencer sat down on one of the swings while the tears cascaded down her cheeks._

* * *

Toby clenched his knuckles tightly until they were white. Toby's been mad over things before, but he's never got steaming mad before. He's not just mad, he's angry. Andrew Campbell laid a hand on Spencer and not a gentle hand either. Andrew hit her. He hit Spencer. He hit a girl. What kind of low-life-son-of-a-bitch does something like that? It's bad enough that Andrew hits Toby several times a day. That he can handle. He can stand it every day, but what he can not stand is hearing about another man hitting a woman. Didn't his mother ever teach him how to respect women?

"Andrew hit you."

It wasn't exactly a question. It came out more as a demand. He can't understand why any man would ever hit a woman. That's sick.

"It was only once," she whispered. "And you don't have to worry. It doesn't hurt that much."

"He hit you, Spencer," Toby practically growled. "It is not okay for a man to lay a hand on a woman in that kind of way. That is not okay."

Spencer didn't know what else to say or do to calm Toby down. She's never seen him this worked up before.

"Toby please just drop it, okay? I'm fine. There's nothing else to worry about. Andrew just lost his temper.

"Don't make excuses for him, Spencer. If Andrew thinks he can hit you and get away with it."

Toby cut himself off and turned around to look for Andrew. He's probably still here considering that the football team has practice this afternoon. Toby walked around the school and headed towards the field with Spencer not far behind him.

"Toby," she called after him. "Toby, please don't do this. Toby!"

They stepped onto the football field where Andrew and the other boys are practicing. Alison is in her cheerleading outfit along with the other cheerleaders. Aria and Hanna are sitting on one of the benches watching the boys practice. Aria smiled when Noel took his shirt off. Everyone froze when they saw Toby making his way towards them and Spencer trailing behind him. Andrew looked to see what his friends are looking at. He smiled when he saw Toby coming. He juggled the football between his hands and took a few steps forward to meet up with Toby.

"Somebody call the janitor there's a freak lose on the field," Andrew joked.

Everyone around him chuckled. Aria nugged Hanna and the two of them got up to see what's going on. Alison came over with her cheerleader friends to watch as well.

"You think it's okay to hit a girl and get away with it?" Toby said.

Andrew chuckled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You hit Spencer the other night."

"She hit me first."

"I don't care," Toby snarled. "You can beat me up all you want, but leave her alone. That goes for other woman in this world."

Andrew smirked and said, "I guess I can't hit you anymore then."

Toby wiped that smirk off Andrews face by socking him right in the jaw. Andrew stumbled backwards and fell on his back. People around them gasped. Andrew felt a little blood trail down his jaw and growled. Noel and Sean came up behind Toby and restrained him while Andrew stood up. Toby tried breaking away from them, but it was useless. Andrew stood up and struck Toby right in the gut.

"Stop!" Spencer yelled.

Andrew struck him again on the mouth and again in his gut. Toby groaned and fell to his knees. Noel tugged him up right, so Andrew could hit him again. Spencer tried breaking through the crowd to stop them.

"Guys!" She yelled. "Stop it! Let him go!"

Andrew was about to hit Toby again until somebody came in and took the punch for him. Whoever jumped in, grabbed a hold of Andrew's wrist before he could strike him a second time.

"Stop!" The guy yelled. "Walk away!"

Spencer recognized the guy as Ezra Fitz. The new guy that moved here this semester. The guy both Aria and Alison have a crush on. Ezra pushed Andrew back, so he couldn't hit Toby anymore. Then Caleb came up and pushed Noel back. Sean let go voluntarily. As soon as Toby was freed, Spencer rushed over and kneeled down beside him.

"Mess with me again freak!" Andrew growled.

The crowd gasped when Spencer stood up and tried charging towards Andrew. She was stopped by Ezra reaching out to hold her back.

"Just walk it off, Spencer," Ezra said.

"But he!" She yelled and he interrupted.

"Get Toby out of here and walk it off!" He demanded.

Spencer's nostrils flared in annoyance. She finally stopped fighting against Ezra and contained herself. She walked back over to Toby who was now standing up on his own, barely.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

He nodded.

"Let's get you some ice."

She clung to his arm and pulled him along. Spencer's not dropping him off at his house today. She's taking him home with her. Both of her parents are gone and it would be easier for him to get cleaned up at her place. Right now, Spencer is furious with Andrew and she's furious with her friends for doing nothing to help.

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 **Aw man. Poor Toby. Spencer's pissed. Andrew's mad. Her friends are thinking god knows what. Thank god Ezra jumped in there, right? Hope you all liked this chapter. How sweet was it that Toby stood up for Spencer? There will be some sweet Spoby next chapter, so stay tuned!**

 **Also, I won't be able to update for awhile. Probably not for the rest of the week. I'm leaving today to go on a little road trip with my friends. Hope you all understand. It's summer and I need to have a little fun too. I'll be back to updating asap, but for the time being don't expect another update this week. Bye, love you guys.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I managed to find time to write a chapter while I'm away. I'll be home from my trip sometime tomorrow, so hopefully this chapter will hold you guys off till I update again. Lot's of cute Spoby in this chapter as promised. Hope you enjoy it, bye.**

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A sharp squeak sound yelped out when Spencer turned off the cold water. She brought the white rag up, twisted it and squeezed it until it felt cool and damp. She brings the rag over to Toby who is sitting on the white sofa in the living room. He's sitting there with his right hand on his face and the other down between his knees. Spencer sat down on the footrest across from him and gently presses the rag over his eye that is slowly turning a light purple. Toby flinches when the rag first touches his eye, but then Spencer presses lightly again. He relaxed against the rag and sighed.

"You should probably keep this on there for awhile," she instructed.

His fingers brushed against the back of her hand when he reached to hold the rag himself. She held the rag for a second or two before finally letting him have it.

"You shouldn't have punched Andrew," she said sighing.

"He shouldn't be hitting you," he replied somewhat bitterly. "No one should be hitting you."

"Andrew could've done worse."

"I can take him."

"Oh Toby, I have no doubt that you could take him, but when he has back up."

"I guess I acted a bit hasty there," he sighed to himself.

"Why did you do that?" She asked. "I've never seen you behave like that. I tell you one guy hit me and the next thing I know you're going all hawk on him."

He looked down at the floor. "I just hate hearing about men hitting women."

"That's why you did it?" She questioned. "You only hit Andrew because he hit a girl?"

"That wasn't the only reason. I just-I care about you, Spencer a lot and when someone hurts you I feel that it is my duty to defend you. I just wanted to protect you."

She smiled, "I've never had a friend look out for me like that. Like this. Not even Hanna, Aria, Caleb, or even Emily."

"Sorry to say this but, your friends suck. They should be there for you, stand up for you. You do it all the time for them and they should return the favor."

She nodded in agreement, "yeah, they should." She took his hand and said, "I'm glad I have one friend who's looking out for me."

He smiled back at her. Although hearing the word 'friend' is beginning to bother him. They've been hanging out for a month now. Shouldn't he be making his move by now?

"Andrew hit you in the gut. Take your shirt off so I can check for bruises," she insisted.

His eyes bugged out, "what?"

"You heard me."

"You want me to take my shirt off?"

"Just to check for any serious damage. Now, off with your shirt before I do it for you," she spoke in a demanding tone.

"Yes, mom," he mumbled under his breath.

Spencer wasn't expecting to see what she saw. Toby simply slipped off his blue shirt and Spencer's mouth gaped. The boy has abs. Not just a five pack or even a six pack. Dude has an eighth pack. Spencer sat there for a minute just looking at him. She wasn't expecting him to have that hidden under his shirt. Her eyes wondered further down his body and she almost missed the huge, blue spot around the left side of his rib cage.

"Spence."

Toby caught her attention. She snapped her head up at him.

"Sorry," she faked a smile. "I got a little distracted by that bruise on your rib cage. Did Andrew really hit you that hard?"

"I guess so," he shrugged.

He felt bad lying to her, but he can't have her knowing about the way his father treats him. She's already picked up on the fact that he doesn't care about Toby's wellbeing. If she knows she might try to jump in or confront Mr. Cavanaugh about what he's been doing. His father might hurt Spencer if she finds out and he's not taking that chance. He would much rather be beaten until he's unconscious and appears black and blue then have his dad hurt Spencer once. Toby hissed in pain when Spencer pressed down lightly on his rib cage.

"Does that hurt?" She asked.

"No," he lied. "You just surprised me that's all."

"Maybe you should see a doctor," she suggested.

"Spencer that won't be necessary."

"What if one of your ribs is broken?"

"I'm fine. They don't even hurt."

"Toby you cringe every time you exhale. I'm really worried you should get checked out."

She started to get up.

"No," he said rather roughly.

She sat back down and looked at him with wide eyes. He sighed and softened up a bit.

"Spence, I don't need to see a doctor. My ribs hurt a little, but I'm fine. I swear."

She looked unconvinced, "are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay," she finally gave in. "You can put your shirt back on if you want."

He did just that. Spencer sighed she kind of missed seeing him shirtless. He has a nice body. Why would he want to hide it? She tucked a piece of her brown hair back and tried to think of something else to say. Then her phone buzzed. **Hey, Spence. Noel's party starts in an hour. You coming?** - _Aria._ That's right. Noel's annual Halloween party is tonight. She almost forgot about that. She was about to text back yes, but then she remembered what had happened early today. Toby's here right now. She can't just ask him to leave so she can go party with the people who beat him up. Plus, she doesn't really feel like getting drunk anyway or she'll most likely become the DD of the night. So, she picks up her phone and texts Aria back. **No.**

"Hey, Toby?"

"Yeah?"

She blushed when he met her eyes, "um do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Uh, well, no. Not really. If you count sitting alone in my room listening to Radiohead. Why are you asking?"

She bit her lip, "well, my friends are going to this Halloween party and..."

"Woah," he cut her off. "I'm sorry, but I do not want to spend my night in a crowded room with those kind of people."

"Oh, no, no, no. I wasn't suggesting we go to the party. I was just saying I decided to ditch Noel's party and stay in. If you're not doing anything tonight, maybe you would like to stay for a while? We could make some popcorn, order a pizza, and watch a movie."

"Oh," he's shocked by the offer.

"If you don't want to I totally understand. I would understand if listening to Radiohead seems like more fun to you."

"No, I'm just shocked by your offer. If you're okay with me staying."

"I am," she said without hesitation. "I would really like it if you stayed."

"Okay," he smiled softly. "I'll be happy to stay."

They ordereded a pepperoni pizza and popped some corn. Toby settled back on the couch while Spencer carried over two bottles of water. She handed one over to Toby keeping the other one for herself. Before sitting next to him, Spencer put a scary movie into the DVD player. She took her seat beside him and the movie began. The opening credits appeared right as they began to dig into the pizza.

About three slices of pizza later and a half bowl of popcorn, they are now an hour into the movie. Toby's gaze kept going between the screen in front of him and the shaking girl next to him. They're watching a scene where one of the characters is walking down some stairs into a pitch black basement. The background music is playing soft and slow. Spencer hugged her knees tightly to her chest and began bitting her nails. A horrible habit she used to do when she was a kid and would get scared or nervous. The character inside the movie came up to a closed door that leads to God knows where. Spencer bit her lip as the character slowly opens the door. She jumped expecting something to pop out, but there's nothing behind the door. Spencer calmed down a bit until the character turned around. The character turned around and came face to face with a screaming clown face holding a knife. Spencer jumped and shielded her face against something.

Toby sat there awkwardly while Spencer had her arms wrapped around his torso and her face buried beneath his chest. It was weird at first, but the more she shook against him, the more relaxed he became. The movie wasn't scaring him at all honesty. At first he felt weird being here with Spencer. Now, he's gotten used to it and he really likes being here with her. Spencer was practically laying on his lap by the time the movie ended. He didn't have the heart to move her but it's getting late. It's passed midnight. He started poking at her waist to get her attention until he heard the sound of her light breathing. Her body seems much more relaxed against his and now he knows why. She's asleep. Spencer fell asleep on top of him.

He wasn't sure how to handle this situation. Does he wake her up? Should he move her up to her room where she would be more comfy? He was about to do that until she shifted in her sleep and adjusted herself so her body is lying diagonal to his and her head is resting on his shoulder. He can't move her. She seems so peaceful the way she is. Right now he doesn't really mind that she's on him. He reaches beside her for the red blanket and pulls it up over the both of them, but mostly over her. He leans himself back a little and wraps his arm around her body to help keep her in place. She yawns and cuddles up to him. Pretty soon the both of them are asleep with Toby twirling the ends of her hair between his fingers.

The morning sun streamed in through the kitchen window and fell on the two bodies curled up on the couch. At some point during the night, Toby laid himself back on the couch where he could lay his head on the arm rest and had Spencer lying half on top of him and half beside him. Both of his arms are wrapped loosely around her with one of his hands petting her hair. They woke up that morning in that position. It was Toby who woke up first. He pressed his face into her hair until he could smell her coconut shampoo. Thanks to the sunlight, he had to blink a few times to adjust to the light. He moved his left hand up Spencer's arm and she started to stir. He panicked not sure how she would react to find them laying like this. Spencer moved the hand that is resting on his chest around his body. Her eyes fluttered open and she caught sight of the sleeve to Toby's blue shirt. Toby didn't realize that his hand was trapped between something until Spencer tried moving her arm. They both looked down and saw their hands intertwined. She looked and met his gaze.

"Hi," she spoke in a groggy voice.

"Hi," he replied using the same tone.

"Um, I'm sorry I slept on top of you. I must've been pretty tired."

"That's okay."

She sat up so he could move. Surprisingly they still have their hands locked together. Toby sat up and slowly moved his hand out of hers.

"I slept really well last night," she admitted. "Better than I have in a long time."

"Yeah, me too."

She smiled at him for a minute then got off the couch. The time on the clock says 7:05. It's a little early to be awake, but they've been sleeping here all night. Toby probably has to get home and he should be out of the house before her parents get home.

"Would you like something for breakfast before you go?" She asked. "I don't have much, but there's some cereal or bread if you're more of a toast kinda guy."

He smiled and stood up, "maybe some toast."

She walked over to the kitchen counter and put two pieces of bread in the toaster for him. While she did that, Toby folded up the red blanket they were using. The toaster popped up and Spencer took the two pieces of toast out and put them on a plate.

"What do you normally put on toast?" She asked.

"I put raspberry jam and sometimes I put peanut butter on."

Spencer looked up and smiled, "I put peanut butter on toast too."

"My mom used to love it, so I guess that's how I've grown to love it."

Spencer gets down the peanut butter and spreads it out evenly. When she finished, Toby came over and sat down on one of the stoles. Spencer made toast for herself and spread some peanut butter on top. They sat and ate their toast in silence. When they finished, Spencer rinsed off their plates and put them in the dishwasher.

"Thanks for letting me stay," Toby said. "I had a really good time."

"Yeah, so did I."

She walked him to the back door where they're saying their goodbyes. Toby wishes that he could stay and Spencer kind of wishes that too. It's sad when fun comes to an end. Spencer's not looking forward to being home alone again. That and her friends will be over soon. She's still furious with them after their behavior the other day. Part of her just wants to up and leave her friends, but at the same time she needs those girls. They've been there for pretty much her whole life. It would be hard to let go. Spencer opened the door for him and pressed her back against the frame.

"We'll have to hangout like this sometime again," she suggested.

"Totally. It would be nice to have more conversations with you that don't have to do with French or Physics."

"Yeah," she laughed. "That reminds me, have you been studying?"

He smiled and nodded, "of course I have. If I didn't I think my tutor would get on me about that."

"Well, your tutor sounds like a good one and she only wants what's best for you."

"I'll have to remind myself to thank her."

She smiles, "I'm sure she knows."

They stared back at each other for a bit longer than they should have. Spencer looked up his face and into his crystal blues. The dark color under his eye looks better than it did last night. Spencer's not sure how her own eye is yet. She hasn't looked in a mirror yet. It doesn't hurt anymore and it doesn't feel swollen at all. When Toby least expected it, Spencer walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. It wasn't a big long kiss, but it wasn't a short peek either. She kissed under his eyes and then again closer to his mouth. After a second she stepped back. The color of red burning on her cheeks matched the color of his.

"Um," she bit down on her lip shyly. "Thank you for what you did the other day for punching Andrew. I'm sorry you got hurt because of it and I'm just really great full to have you around to stand up for me."

All he could do was node and mumble, "you're welcome."

Spencer smiled and stepped back inside her living room. Toby turned to walk down her sidewalk and heard the door close behind him. What an interesting night he had. He smiled the whole way home. Nothing in this world could possibly ruin the smile on his face or so he thought. He walked up his front porch steps, walked through the door, and was greeted by his father waiting for him with a scowl on his face.

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 **Hope you liked the Spoby in this chapter. Spencer took care of Toby and she's starting to get suspicious about where he's getting all those bruises from. Will she ever find out? Keep reading to find out. Review and tell me your thoughts.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm back home and back with a new chapter! Enjoy!**

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 _9:24 A.M:_ **Spencer, we haven't seen you all weekend. Where have you been?** \- _Aria_

 _9:47 A.M:_ **Spence, coffee today at the Brew 10 o'clock. Be there.** _-Alison_

 _10:10 A.M:_ **Hey, we're all waiting for you at the Brew.** _-Emily_

 _10:20 A.M:_ **Spencer we've been waiting for twenty minutes. Where are you?** _-Hanna_

 _10:47 A.M:_ **Stop ignoring me, Spencer! Answer us, bitch!** _\- Alison_

 _11:30 A.M:_ **Please call me, Spence.** _\- Aria_

 _12:00 P.M:_ **Are you mad at us or something?** - _Emily_

All morning Spencer sat up in her bedroom working on her homework. Her friends tried calling and texting her, but Spencer doesn't want to speak to them. She's ignoring them because she' still mad at them. If they can't figure out why she's mad at them then they don't deserve to hear from her at all. Let them figure it out for a change.

Monday morning starts another day of school. Spencer got in her car and stopped by Toby's house first. He texted her saying he'd be out in a minute. Aria and Hanna both sent her a text asking if she'd be at school today. She rolled her eyes and deleted both texts. The Cavanaugh's front door opened and a teenage boy walked down the front porch steps. Spencer looked up at caught sight of a tall boy dressed in a plaid blue shirt, faded blue jeans, and a gray jacket with two red stripes down the sleeves. This boy looks a lot like Toby, but his hair is rather short. It looks like he got a buzz cut or something. It almost didn't look like Toby, but he has his piercing blue eyes. The boy opened up the passenger's side door and sat inside. Spencer sat there and stared at him.

"Spence," Toby spoke up.

"Toby?" She questioned. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah it's me," he laughed.

She shook her head and blinked a couple times, "sorry it's just. You look different.

"I do?"

"Your hair."

He chuckled and ran a hand through his short hair, "yeah I got it cut. Does it look that bad?"

"No," she shook her head. "It looks good."

"Thank you," he smiled.

Spencer sat there just staring at him. She can't get over his new look. He looks really good. He looked good before, but now, it's like a whole new him.

"Spencer," Toby smirked.

"Huh?"

"School."

"Oh," she snapped her eyes forward and put her car in drive. "Right school of course."

Spencer drove them to school and they walked in together. Just like Spencer, people at school didn't recognize Toby right away either. People would stare and point at the mysterious guy walking with Spencer. A few were shocked when they discovered it was Toby. Some girls found him to be rather hot. Alison and her posse stood at the other end of the hall when they heard all the commotion. They too didn't recognize Toby right away.

"Who is that?" Hanna asked what all the other girls were thinking.

Emily squinted her eyes and said, "I think that's Toby Cavanaugh."

Alison's eyes snapped up, "that's Toby CavaNobody?"

"Not Toby CavaNobody," Hanna said. "More like Toby Hotbody."

"He's not that good-looking," Noel huffed while crossing his arms.

Alison crossed her arms and stared at the two making their way down the hall. Andrew who is standing right next to them glanced over at Alison. They shared a look of disapproval. They know that they have to do something about this. They're not sure what, but they know they just have to do something.

Spencer walked Toby the whole way to his locker. While he was getting his French books together, she leaned against the wall beside his locker. Toby seemed to be the only one not noticing that everyone is staring at him.

"Toby can I ask you something?" Spencer asked.

"Sure," he shrugged.

"Is there any particular reason why you cut your hair?"

 _Mr. Cavanaugh stood on the bottom of the stairs waiting for his son to get home. He's been out all night when he should've been here to get more beer. At 8 in the morning, the front door swung open and Toby entered with a smile on his face. His smile quickly faded when he saw his father waiting for him._

" _Dad," Toby spoke._

" _Son," Mr. Cavanaugh replied dryly._

 _Toby closed the door behind him. "I didn't think you'd be up so early."_

" _Who ever said I went to sleep? How do you expect me to sleep when my own son didn't come home from school at all."_

" _I didn't think you'd care."_

" _You didn't think I'd care?" He questioned. "It's after midnight, your bed is empty, and there is no beer in the fridge."_

" _Oh," Toby chuckled. "So that's what you were worried about. You weren't worried about me, you were worried about the lack of cans of poison in your fridge."_

 _Mr. Cavanaugh walked up to Toby and smacked the back of his head. Toby flinched and groaned._

" _Don't speak to me that way, boy. I can kick your ass out on the street. If you didn't come home last night," his father circled around him. "Then where were you?"_

" _I stayed at a motel like I do sometimes."_

" _No,," his father sneered. "You don't smell like a cheap motel room. You smell more like cheap girls perform. You spent the night with some girl and I know who. You were with Spencer."_

 _Toby straightened himself up and said, "I'm not going to confirm if I was with her or not, but if I was, why would it matter to you?"_

" _Don't play mind games, Toby," his father warned. "I know you were with Spencer. She's a Hastings and all Hastings are selfish, rich, airheads. They never give a damn about anyone. All they do is screw people over. Spencer is just like her parents."_

" _No,, she's not!" Toby raised his voice. "Spencer is a very nice girl and she actually cares about me. Spencer is nothing like her parents."_

" _We'll see about that," his father sneered. "I know how that family works. You're falling for a trap."_

 _Toby turned around, "what do you mean falling into a trap?"_

" _Oh, Toby," he chuckled. "Don't think that I don't know about your little crush on her or should I say how you're in love with her. Yeah, I know all about that. Poor Toby is falling for the popular girl. Why even bother Toby? That girl is way out your league. You're the school joke and she's the school prep. You honestly think you have a chance with her?" He stepped up to him. "Forget about her, Toby. It's never going to happen. I mean look at you. What girl would want to date a guy with a mop for hair?"_

 _Mr. Cavanaugh smirked at Toby before walking out. Toby held on to the stairwell and thought about what he said. His father is an asshole. Everyone knows that. Even though his father is an asshole, he's right. Spencer is a smart, beautiful girl with cool friends, a rich family, and good grades. He's not good enough for her and he never will be. Spencer will never look at him the same way he looks at her. When Mr. Cavanaugh's car pulled out of the driveway, Toby went up to his room to shower. When he got out, he started combing his hair in front of the mirror. As he did so he took a good look at himself. He looked at how his sandy hair covered his eyes. It's been awhile since he's seen both of his eyes. He looked down at his outfit. A dark colored t-shirt that it twice his size and black jeans and a dirty pair of black shoes. His style is horrible. No girl is ever going to want a guy who still looks like a middle schooler. Toby walked into his room, opened up his top dresser drew and dug around his clothes until he found his wallet which held his credit card. His mother gave him the credit card before she was admitted to the hospital. He's never used it, but now he has a reason to. He picks up his leather jacket and walks out of the house. He has a few errands to run._

"Nope," Toby answered Spencer's question. "I just wanted to make a few changes in my life."

"And one of those changes is to cut your hair and look like you stepped out of Degrassi?"

He smiled and shrugged, "I guess so."

"Alright," she smiled and walked with him to class. "So what other changes are you planning to make?"

"I'm not sure yet," he said as they sat down at their desk. "I guess I'll just make them as I go."

"Well, just so you know long hair or short hair, I still like you no matter what you do."

He smiled and said, "thanks, Spencer."

Something strange happened at school today. In every class students would fire spit balls and throw paper wads at Toby, but not today. Toby sat in each of his classes and he didn't get hit by one piece of paper. In woodshop, Noel didn't pull his stool out from under him. Nothing bad happened to him. When school led out, some girl asked if Toby needed a ride home. Of course, he turned her down since Spencer's taking him.

At the end of the day, Spencer gathered her books right as Aria, Hanna, and Emily approached her. Spencer glared up at them, but didn't say a word. Instead of speaking, she looked back down.

"Spencer it's been three days. Please talk to us," Aria pleaded.

"Say anything," Emily added. "A lecture, something smart, a sentence, a word, a phrase. Say something."

"I have nothing to say to you guys," Spencer replied dryly.

"You spoke, so clearly you do have something to say," Hanna said.

Spencer turned her body towards them and crossed her arms. "You're right I do have something to say. I am so sick of the way you treat me and everyone around here. I don't care if it's because you're afraid of what Alison or Andrew will do to you if think otherwise. On Thursday night Andrew hit me and Toby was the only one who tried standing up for me. While Toby was being held and getting attacked for defending me. My so called 'best friends' just stood there saying or doing nothing. How can you go on calling and texting me and trying to talk to me like everything is all okay? Maybe you three should take a class on how to be a good friend before you contact me again."

With that, Spencer shut her locker and brushed past them. Aria, Hanna, and Emily stood back and shared a look. Spencer's right and they know it. They have been acting like pretty bad friends lately. They four of them used to be really close before Alison came in and took over. Spencer exited the school and found Toby waiting for her next to her car. They shared a smile and hoped in.

"How was school?" She asked like a mother asking her son.

"Surprisingly not bad."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said. "No one really caused me any problems. Noel and Andrew gave me a few glares, but other than that. Nothing happened."

"Wow," she smiled. "You think it may have something to do with your new style?"

He shrugged and said, "maybe or you slipped out in the middle of the night and threatened everyone."

She laughed, "yeah, that must be it."

They shared a smile then Spencer turned her attention back on the road. The rest of the ride to Toby's house was nice. They talked more about school and about the French project coming up. Since it's a partnership kind of project they decided to team up. Like they would want to work with anyone else anyway. They worked at Toby's house for an hour. Working is code for talking about music, sharing jokes, and laughing.

"Are teacher said we're suppose to write a script to present in class on Friday," Toby read the directions.

"I wonder if we can pick a scene from an old French scene and write our own ending."

"I think it has to be something we make up."

"That's a same. I was hoping to a scene from an old French romance film."

He chuckled, "you want to write a romantic script?"

"Sure, why not? I mean everyone is going to write something duel. What if we came up with something that's out of the ordinary?"

"It could be awesome."

"Not could," she smiled. "It would."

"Well, today's Monday and it's due before class on Friday."

She nodded and reached down for her notebook. "lets get started."

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 **This chapter was a little crappy but I wrote this in a car. Hopefully some people liked it. Next chapter you will see more of Spencer/Toby working on the script and maybe even a teasle rehearsal *wink wink* Also the girls will talk to Spencer and apologize for the way they've been acting, but will she forgive them?**

 **Someone asked in the reviews a while back if Caleb is good or not. You'll find out in the next few chapters.**


	14. Chapter 14

**This is a good one boys and girls. I promise you, you don't want to skip this chapter. It's a good one. Don't forget to review at the end! Enjoy!**

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Let's be real. Everybody knows that doing group projects are never a fun thing to do. Well, unless you have someone good to work with. In the past Spencer has always hated doing group projects. That's because she hated every partner/study group she's ever worked with. One time she worked with Noel on a history project back in 10th grade. She did all the work and he took all the credit. That was the first time Spencer ever got an A- in history all because she got a deduction on participation even though she did ALL the work. On year she worked with Andrew on an astronomy project. Andrew was extremely bossy and controlled everything they did. They got a good grade on it, but Andrew was not fun to work with. She did a group project with Alison, Mona, and Lucas. Mona and Lucas were great. They had similar ideas as Spencer and both smart. Spencer, Mona, and Lucas started out working well. Then Alison was recruited to their group and things went down from there. Alison kept making fun of all of them and saying how stupid they were doing is stupid. Here she is working on a French project. Luckily she actually has a good partner for this one. Somebody that she actually likes to communicate with and likes.

"Toby stop," Spencer laughed.

Right now Toby and Spencer are over at Spencer's house trying to write a script for their class. Spencer is sitting Chris-crossed on her bed while Toby is sitting on the end of her red chair. They both have their laptops open and they're looking up French translations and scripts. When Toby first got here it was strictly professional. Then Toby started speaking with a fake French/American accent and had Spencer laughing until her sides hurt.

"Excusez-moi madame, could you point me to the nearest restraint?" He spoke.

Spencer laughed even harder. His accent has actually gotten a lot better, but right now he's talking with a bad accent on purpose. She clutched her hand against her ribs and continued to laugh.

"Seriously, Toby my ribs are going to crack if you don't stop making me laugh."

"Okay, okay," he laughed. "I'll stop."

"Thank you."

After awhile she finally calmed down from all her laughing. Spencer sat herself back up on her bed and was grinning from ear to ear. Toby sat across the room just admiring the way she looks. Right now she's wearing a plaid, long-sleeve blue shirt with a dark park of jeans. Her hair is down is smooth waves. Her make up is so light and so simple that it almost looks like she's not wearing any at all. One thing Toby likes about Spencer is that she has a natural beauty both inside and out.

"You know I like it when you laugh," he commented.

"No," she hide her smile behind the sleeve of her shirt. "I hate the sound of my laugh. It sounds so raspy and dry."

"No," he disagreed. "Your laugh is beautiful, just like everything else about you."

Spencer sat there looking at him while tapping the end of her pencil on her notebook. She bit her lip and was reminded of what they're suppose to be doing.

"Um," she cleared her throat and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Maybe we should get started on our script."

"Right," he sat up. "Sorry for getting off track."

"That's okay. It's fun to loosen up every once in awhile."

He looked up and smiled. They got to work preparing a script that no one would ever forget. After a few more laughs, lots of smiles, and jumping into school mode, they've finally wrote a script that will for sure get them an A+.

* * *

As the sun began to set behind the hills of Rosewood, that was when Toby decided it was time to leave. Even though neither one of them wanted him to go, he had no choice. Toby left meaning Spencer's all alone. After saying her goodbyes to Toby, Spencer shut the door, turned around, and sighed. The house is so empty. Her mother will be back tomorrow night, but her father will be in New York for two more days. After Spencer and Toby finished their script, she made dinner for the two of them. The Hasting's didn't have much in the fridge, so it wasn't like a gourmet meal or anything. No, Spencer just made them a grilled cheese sandwich and a can of soda. Toby said something about her making a grilled cheese sandwich just like his mother.

"I've gotta say," Spencer remembers Toby saying. "You make the best grilled cheese I've ever had."

"You're just saying that because I'm nice enough to feed you," she teased.

He laughed, "you're right. These taste just like my mother made them."

"You're comparing my 'totally awesome' cooking skills to your mom?" She lifted an eyebrow in a teasing way. "How flattering."

Once again he chuckled, "anyone who can cook like my mother is amazing to me."

"What was she like?" Spencer rested her chin on top of her folded up hands. "Your mother."

He sighed, "I don't want to bore you with the details."

"Come on, please," she smiled. "You never talk about her."

"Alright," he sighed. He wasn't sure where to start. He's never opened up about his mother before to anyone. Although, Spencer's different. She won't judge him or his family. He trusts her.

"My mother was an incredible women," he started. "She would do everything for me when I was a child. Like most mothers she could do anything or so I thought," he chuckled half-heartedly. "She was good at helping others. My mother was truly a saint. She would put other people's needs before her own. She had many talents like being able to sing and play piano. She even played a little guitar and the violin. My mother," he paused and looked down. "She was everything. When she started getting sick." He stopped himself before the tears started pouring out.

Knowing that this was hard for him, Spencer reached across the table to take his hand. He instantly looked at her. She gave him a reassuring smile. He took a deep breath and continued.

"When my mother started getting sick things got harder. I would go to the hospital everyday after school and everyday she would get weaker and weaker. That bright light she always had in her eyes slowly started burning out. But you know what? No matter how weak she was, she always put on a brave face. She was a fighter and a strong one. She would've beaten it if my dad took her in sooner."

"I'm so sorry, Toby."

"It's okay," he smiled. "My mother lived a good life even when she had cancer. Even while living in a hospital, my mother would live life like cancer didn't even exist. If my mother got to know you, Spencer she would've loved you."

Spencer smiled at that, "I've never been a mother's favorite person. Not even my own."

"From that brief moment of knowing you, she liked you. If she would've gotten to know you more she would've loved you."

Spencer titled her head, "you're mother knew me? I've seen her around and may have said a few hellos at church, but I wouldn't call that liking as more of being polite."

"It's true you've only had a few encounters with my mother, but I can say they were pleasant ones."

 _It's a cold rainy evening and the sun is starting to set. The clouds are a gold and gray color thanks to the sunset. It's Friday night and that means lots of people are opening their doors up for parties. Alison dragged along all of her friends to them. At these parties there's a lot of dancing, a lot of making out, and a lot of drinking. When people arrive to the party they start drinking and when they start drinking, they drink even more. Some people drink until they can't remember their own names or where they live._

 _Toby had no interest going to one of those parties. It's sort of ridiculously knowing that eighth graders and ninth graders are crowding in a house somewhere getting drunk. That is not how he wants to spend his night. He much rather spend it with his mother. Yeah, lots of people have labeled him the towns 'mama boy' but he doesn't care. His mother is like his best friend and he likes hanging out with her. Right now, they're heading home after watching a movie. The rain is coming down like cats and dogs. Marion cursed under her breath trying to see through all this rain. They finally made it to their street and spotted something curled up on the curve. At first Marion thought it was just a garbage bag. When they stopped right outside their house, they saw that it wasn't a bag. It's a young girl._

 _Marion turned off her car and squinted her eyes to see over the rain. The young girl appears to have long brown hair and it's all stuck to her body thanks to the rain. Toby was busy playing a game on his phone, so he didn't even notice they made it home._

" _Toby come on," Marion nudged her son's leg._

 _Toby switched off his phone and followed his mother out of the car. He started walking up his front porch when he realized that his mother is not following him. Instead, she is walking over to that girl sitting on the curve. Toby turns around and catches Marion kneeling down next to that girl. Toby can't quite tell who it is. Probably just some dumb drunk girl from Khan brother's party. Marion approaches the girl and kneels in front of her. She jumps when a hand touches her shoulder. Marion smiles sweetly at the girl._

" _Hi there."_

 _The girls snaps her head up and begins to breath deeply. Marion keeps her hand steady on the girl's shoulder as a sign of comfort._

" _Easy now," Marion instructed. "Take slow, deep breaths. You're okay."_

" _W-where," the brown haired girl choked out. "Where am I?"_

" _You're sitting on the curve."_

" _The curve?" The young girl looked utterly confused._

 _Marion squinted her eyes as she started to recognize the girl. She's seen that angel shaped face, that soft brown hair, and brown eyes before. She would know this girls face anyway._

" _Excuse me, are you the Hastings youngest daughter Spencer?"_

 _Spencer nodded and fear filled her eyes. She started shaking and breathing so hard it sounded like she was hyperventilating._

" _My parents," she breathed. "Oh god, they don't know I'm out. I wasn't suppose to be out tonight," she cried and locked eyes with Marion. "Please, don't call my parents. Th-they'd kill me."_

" _It's okay," Marion soothed. "Why don't you come inside and we'll get you warmed up okay?"_

 _Spencer hesitated. Marion wrapped an arm around Spencer to help her stand up. She held on to her and helped her walk up the steps since Spencer is so drunk it's hard to balance herself. Toby popped up from the couch when the front door swung open. He was confused and shocked to see his mother bringing some girl in from outside._

" _Toby," Marion said. "Go get some blankets from the closet, will you?"_

 _Without responding, Toby did just as he was told. He didn't know why his mother was helping that girl, but she seems like she needs it. Poor thing is soaked to the bone and is shivering like never before. Toby comes back with three flannel blankets and hands them over to his mother. Marion mumbles a thank you and starts stripping the girl out of her coat and scarf. The girl only has on a black tank top and short skirt. Marion bundles the girl up in the blankets and lays her down on the couch. Toby started to recognize this girl. It's an eight grader, the usual goody-goody, Spencer Hastings._

" _Toby," her mother spoke._

" _Hmm?"_

" _I'm going to boil some water to make tea, while you stay with her and help her get warm?"_

 _Toby didn't know how to respond at first. He felt strange. He doesn't really know this girl. He's seen her around school before, but he doesn't know her. Marion looked at him waiting for an answer. Toby nodded._

" _Yes, mom."_

 _Marion smiled at him then got up and walked into the kitchen. Toby sighed and stood around the room not knowing what to do. When he looked down, Spencer was clinging to the blankets and shivering. Poor girl is shivering like a dog sleeping out in the cold. Even though it's weird and awkward, Toby sat down at the end of the couch. He wrapped his arms around the girl and used all his strength to set her up. The girl shivered and leaned into him while he held her. It felt awkward at first, but after awhile it wasn't too bad. Eventually, Spencer stopped shivering and relaxed against him. When he felt she was warm enough, he carefully laid her back down on the couch._

 _Spencer curled herself up inside the blankets and fell asleep. Toby continued to sit there and watch her. For some reason he couldn't get himself to peel his eyes off of her. A lot of guys in school say that Spencer is pretty, but not many say she's beautiful. Toby thinks Spencer is beautiful. Even when she's a drunk mess and her makeup is smeared all over the place and she's soaked to the bone, she still looks beautiful. Toby reaches out with a shaky hand and brushes the damp hair out of her face. Pretty soon he finds himself smiling at the girl even though she's asleep and can't see him doing so. 'What a beautiful girl' is all that seemed to cross his mind._

* * *

"And when my mother re entered the room, she found you asleep so she left your tea on the coffee table."

Spencer sat there and listened to that story. It sounds like such a sweet memory, but she can't seem to remember. She must've been really, really drunk then hungover in the morning. Spencer couldn't believe anyone would ever waste their time on her.

"I can't believe your mother let me crash on your couch. I probably ruined it with my wet clothes. Oh, and I can't believe she let me vomit in your toilet."

"I'm telling you my mother was a saint. She saw how miserable and confused you looked so she brought you in. You don't remember any of it?"

She shook her head, "no, but I kinda wish I did. No ones ever been that kind to me." She smiled at him. "I now see where you get your sweetheart from."

Knock. Knock. That annoying knock on Spencer's door broke her from her thoughts. She just kept playing that story over and over again in her head. Did that really happen? Toby said it was true and he's not known for lying. Spencer's gotten drunk a few times in the past and blacked out, so it probably did happen. Someone knocked again on the kitchen door. Spencer sighed and got up to answer. Bad idea. It's Aria, Hanna, and Emily. She frowned.

"What do you want?"

"Please don't slam the door in our faces," Emily said.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't?"

"Look, Spencer," Aria sighed. "We came here to apologize for the way we've been acting."

"Yeah," Hanna agreed. "We've all been stupid, judgemental, and just down right mean. We should've stood up for you when Andrew hurt you. We should've done a better job at being your friend."

"We're sorry, Spence," Aria said. "Really. This year we've been horrible to you when you're always good to us. We owe you a huge apology."

"I don't think any apology can make up for what we've done," Emily said. "Please forgive us, Spencer. It was wrong of us to let Alison and Andrew treat you and so many others the way we have been. We're really, truly sorry."

Spencer looked at them for a long time. Those apologies almost sound rehearsed. Like someone wrote them down on paper for the girls to say. Spencer crossed her arms.

"Did Ali put you up to this?" She challenged.

"No," Emily said.

"Alison doesn't know we're here," Aria said.

"We meant every word we said," Hanna added. "I know what we're saying just sounds like a whole bunch of crap."

"Yeah it kind of does," Spencer agreed.

"But it's not," Aria said while stepping closer.

"You guys want me to believe that you're sincere? Then you should know that you're apologizing to the wrong person. I know you guys care about me a lot and I know you've done a lousy job lately of showing it. In the past you guys have been there and I want to believe that we can go back to that."

"How can we prove it to you?" Emily asked. "What can we do to prove that we're truly sorry for everything?"

I shouldn't have to tell you, you guys can figure it out yourselves."

With that, Spencer closed the door in the girls' faces. She then leaned back against the door and sighed. She wants to believe that her friends are sincere, but how can she?

* * *

Friday came quicker than expected. Today's the day the scripts for French class are due. Not only that, they have to perform it. Spencer walked into class before Toby and took her seat. They rode to school together, but he had something to take care of. Normally they would walk to class together. Toby came in before the final bell rang. The teacher came in and started teaching. Then the class got started on presenting their scripts. Mona and some girl named Sara just went. Now, it's Spencer and Toby's turn. The teacher called their names and they walked up front. Toby is nervous about speaking in front of the class. Spencer knows that. This whole week she's been teaching him to act like they're the only two people in the room. That it's just the two of them back in Spencer's room talking one on one.

"Whenever you're ready," the teacher instructed.

Spencer nodded at Toby and the show went on.

"It's a beautiful night (Il est une belle nuit)," Spencer said.

"Just like you (Comme toi.)"

Spencer smiled, "I wish we could stay here and look at the stars all night. (Je souhaite que nous pourrions rester ici et regarder les étoiles la nuit.)"

Toby reaches for her hand, "I wish I could stay here with you forever. (Je souhaite que je pourrais rester ici avec vous pour toujours.)"

She holds both of his hands and looks him in the eye, "who says we can't? (Qui a dit que nous ne pouvons pas ?)"

Toby steps closer to her so they're only an inch apart, "Are you saying what I think you're saying? (Voulez-vous dire ce que je pense que vous voulez dire ?)"

"Oui," Spencer nodes. "Let's run off together and never look back. (Lançons partirent ensemble et ne jamais regarder en arrière.)"

"Toujours," he smiled.

That's the end of their script. At the end they're just supposed to walk back to their desks, but they're still standing. They're standing with their hands clasped together staring each other in the eye. Without even thinking, Toby stepped up and kissed Spencer right on the lips. Everyone in classed owed as they did not expect that. No one knew if this is part of the script or them getting lost in the moment. Spencer closed her eyes, but before she had time to respond, Toby pulled away. He stood back looking as pale as a ghost. Toby opened and closed his mouth several times. He could not believe he just kissed Spencer Hastings in front of the whole class.

"I-I," he stuttered. "I need to go."

"Toby wait."

Before Spencer could even get the words out, Toby was already out the door and running down the halls faster than the speed of light. Everyone in the classroom started mumbling about what just happened. Spencer ran up to the doorway wondering if she should run after him or take her seat. She was not expecting that. She just got kissed by Toby Cavanaugh.

* * *

 **AH TOBY KISSED SPENCER THEN FLEED! Did you guys see that coming? You learned a little about Toby's mother and what she was like. How about that flashback folks? Not only was that to show Marion, but it's also when Toby started to like Spencer. If you really, really enjoyed this chapter show me in the reviews. Also, do you think Spencer will run after Toby? Toby maybe so embarrassed he may never show his face in Rosewood again!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey-yo. Here's a new chapter for ya.**

* * *

They're standing with their hands clasped together staring each other in the eye. Without even thinking, Toby stepped up and kissed Spencer right on the lips. Everyone in classed owed as they did not expect that. No one knew if this is part of the script or them getting lost in the moment. Spencer closed her eyes, but before she had time to respond, Toby pulled away. He stood back looking as pale as a ghost. Toby opened and closed his mouth several times. He could not believe he just kissed Spencer Hastings in front of the whole class.

"I-I," he stuttered. "I need to go."

"Toby wait."

Before Spencer could even get the words out, Toby was already out the door and running down the halls faster than the speed of light. Everyone in the classroom started mumbling about what just happened. Toby ran down the halls as fast as his legs could carry him. He didn't even look back. His breathing got so loud that he almost didn't hear the bell ring from overhead. Students started to crowd the halls and Toby continued running. He was careful not to run into anybody. He has to get out of here before the word about him kissing Spencer gets out. Toby bursts out the front doors of the school and jumps down the three steps leading to the sidewalk. He ran around the corner of the school and kept running till the school behind him appeared to be out of sight.

Spencer elbowed her way through the crowd of people searching the halls. She hoped that Toby didn't get very far. After he ran out of the classroom, she saw him turn left down the hall. She went in that direction and didn't find Toby anywhere. He must've left school. Spencer takes out her phone and tries calling him. He didn't answer. She tried calling him a second time and still nothing.

"Dammit," she muttered.

The word about Toby kissing Spencer in French class got out and spread like wildfire. Everyone talked about it and made jokes. Spencer ignored everyone and focused on where Toby could be. She plans on leaving school during lunch to look for him. She wasn't too worried about what her friends would think. As soon as the lunch bell rang, Spencer made a quick escape for her locker hoping to get out of here as soon as possible. Her mission was put on halt when Aria, Hanna, and Emily came up to her.

"Hey, Spencer," Emily said.

"I don't have time to argue today, guys."

"We didn't come over here to argue," Aria said. "We came here because we understand."

"When we first saw you hanging out with Toby we didn't know that something else was going on between you two," Hanna said.

"Alison told us that…" Emily started.

"I don't really care what Alison or any of you have to say," Spencer cut in.

"We just want to know if something more than friendship is going on between you and Toby," Hanna said.

"What would make you think that?" She asked.

This time it was Aria, Hanna, and Emily to give Spencer a look. The four of them have been friends for years. They know when someone likes a guy or when a guy likes one of them. Somehow they can always sense it. For the past several weeks, the three girls have been picking up a vibe that Spencer and Toby have been giving off.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Toby ever since you started tutoring him," Hanna pointed out. "You ride to school together and walk to French class. For the last two weeks, you ditched us to study in the library with him."

"And you missed Noel's Halloween party and Alison said that she saw Toby leaving your house the next morning," Aria said. "We can only guess that he stayed over."

"And Toby kissed you in French class today," Emily added.

Spencer bit her lip," you heard about that?"

The girls nodded. For once, Spencer really didn't know what to say. She really cares about Toby a lot and she knows that he cares about her. They have gotten really close since they started hanging out. She enjoys spending time with him and is always looking for new reasons to see him. Toby stood up for her and she stood up for him. They had a lot of fun writing their script for French class. Toby can make her laugh like nobody else can. When he kissed her in class today she might've felt something. It could've been a spark. She may like him as more than a friend. Who knows? That kiss went so quick she didn't even have time to respond or even think.

"Is there something going on between you and Toby or not?" Hanna asked.

"I-I don't know," Spencer crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. "I really don't know."

"Has Toby ever kissed you before in the past?" Emily asked.

"Well, on the cheek and forehead a few times, but not on the lips. I've kissed him on the cheek several times. We've never kissed like that before. Wait!" Spencer shook her head and dropped her arms. "Why the hell am I talking to you guys about this?"

Spencer closed her locker and attempted to get away from them. She wasn't that quick. The girls followed Spencer down the hall and stopped her before she could leave.

"We're asking this because we're your friends," Hanna said.

"You haven't been doing a very good job on acting like one," she reminded. "You still haven't apologized to the right person."

"Um, we would if we knew where that person is," Hanna said.

"That's who I'm going to look for," Spencer said.

Spencer left her friends in the hallway and left school to go find Toby. Meanwhile, Toby is busy walking around town. First he went to the town library and stayed there for an hour or two. Then he walked up to his favorite spot on the hill. The town looks less scary from up here. He sat up there for an hour then went back down. He ended up at the Brew drinking coffee and reading magazines. He was coming to the end of an article when he sensed somebody looking at him. He glanced ahead and saw Caleb waiting in line. Caleb is part of Alison and Andrews popular group. Toby set his magazine down, picked up his coffee cup and started heading for the door.

"Toby," Caleb stopped him.

Caleb stepped out of line and blocked the doorway. Toby stood there waiting for an insult or a punch to the face. He most likely heard about what happened in French class today. How he was an idiot and kissed Spencer in front of the whole class. Poor Spencer is probably dying of embarrassment right now.

"I was just leaving," Toby said.

"Don't," Caleb said. "I was actually wanting to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I wanted to apologize for Andrew, Noel, and all those other guys and for what happened on the football field. I thought it was really sweet how you spoke out for Spencer. You two do a great job of looking out for one another."

"I just did what any other loyal friend should've done," he said. "I figured since none of you guys would stand up for Spencer, somebody should. Yes, I got my butt kicked, but at least I got beat up for doing the right thing. Taking a beating for Spencer is something that I can handle. That was nothing compared to other things you and your friends have done to me."

Caleb nodded in understanding, "you're right. We should have done a better job of protecting Spencer. Can't speak up for everyone else, but I can speak for myself when I say that I'm sorry."

"I'm sure your are," he said. "But tomorrow you'll be back with your friends making my life hell just like before. Especially after what happened this morning."

"What happened this morning?" Caleb asked.

Toby narrowed his eyes, "you mean you haven't heard?"

He shook his head, "my phones been off all day and I didn't go to school."

"Well, I'm sure you'll hear about it tomorrow and be laughing with the rest of the crowed."

"Well, what happened?"

Toby sighed, "today in French Spencer and I had this presentation to give. We had to come up with a script. At the end of the presentation I did something really, really stupid."

"What'd you do?"

"I kissed her. I kissed Spencer in front of the whole class."

Toby stood there expecting Caleb to laugh and make some joke. He waited and waited for a pun that never came. Caleb stood there for a minute taking it all in.

"Seriously," Toby said. "No joke or comments about it?"

"Oh, I've got a comment alright," Caleb said. "It's about damn time."

"What?"

"You guys have been hanging out for like ever! You come to school together, you walk each other to class. You hangout on the weekends. Spencer cares deeply about you and you care deeply about her. I've seen the way you look at her. It's about time you grew a pair and kissed her."

"Wait, you want Spencer to be with me?"

"I want Spencer to be with somebody who makes her happy. You shouldn't be embarrassed for kissing Spencer in class. You should be proud you did."

"It was just so unexpected and Spencer probably doesn't feel that way about me."

"Well, have you ever asked her?"

"No."

"Then how do you know, if you never asked? Maybe Spencer doesn't like you. Hey, maybe she hates your guts. Or maybe she likes and cares about you just as much as you care for her. There's only one way to find that out."

* * *

After driving around all afternoon, Spencer got tired. She stopped by the library, the hill, she went to Lucky Leon's, and the Brew. She drove all over the place. The first place she checked after leaving school was Toby's house. Toby nor his father was there. It started getting dark by the time Spencer decided to head home. But, before she goes home, she decided to make one more stop.

Flashes of lightning lit up the navy blue sky and the winds started to pick up. The thunder crackled overhead sounding like a bowling ball knocking down pins. The Edgewood Motor Court seems like the place people go when they want to escape their house for the night. Toby has been known for staying here a few times during the week. Spencer parked her car in front of the lobby entrance. The rain that had been slowly falling before, started coming down in a hard downpour. She cursed herself for not thinking to bring an umbrella along with her. She ducked out of her car and ran towards the entrance in the pouring rain. There's a man with a large bald spot on top of his head sitting behind the counter. His face shows the starting of a mustache and beard. Spencer shakes the raindrops off the sleeves of her shirt and walks up to the guy.

"Ahmm," she clears her throat to get his attention.

The bald guy looks up, "may I help you."

"Um, I'm looking for somebody. I'm looking for a friend of mine, Toby Cavanaugh. He's stayed here a few times before and I was wondering if he's here tonight."

"If he was, don't you think your friend would've told you?" He replied dryly.

"Maybe, but could you please just check anyway? It's really important that I find him."

"Is he an old boyfriend that you're trying to track down?"

"What?" She replied in shock. "No, why would you think that?"

"I know girls like you. You got the crazy eyes."

"They're not that crazy," she defended herself. "Look, I just really need to find Toby. It's important, so once again, could you please check to see if he's here."

The man sighed and began typing away on his computer. Spencer stood and waited patiently. If Toby's not here, she doesn't know where else to look. He wouldn't be crazy enough to buy a plane ticket and move to a different state would he?

"Okay," the man spoke up. "Your friend Toby is here. Tonight he is staying in room 214."

Spencer perked right up, "214!?"

"Yes, now would you please leave me alone."

Spencer ran across the parking lot in the pouring rain. She didn't care if the rain would ruin her outfit. Inside the motel room Toby sat on his bed watching some crap television show. He heard a knock on his door and paused. Who could it be? He's not expecting any visitors. Toby got off the bed to answer the door. He was shocked to see a soaking wet Spencer standing out on the other side of the door. Her clothes are drenched and her hair, thanks to the rain, appears darker and stuck to the skin on her neck. Seeing her now is giving him a flashback of the night she got drunk and showed up on the corner of his driveway.

"Spencer," he said. "What are you…"

She cut him off by grabbing his face and kissed him right on the lips. Toby was stunned at first but wrapped his arms around her waist. When Spencer grabbed hold of him, she kind of pulled him outside. Now, they're both getting soaked from the rain. Spencer wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with as much passion that she could master up. Toby tried his best to match her movements. Having Spencer show up here and kiss him like this is not what he expected.

* * *

 **Yay! Spencer found Toby and they kissed! Finally! What does this mean for them? Will they get together? Guess you'll have to see next chapter. As usual leave a review, please.**


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter takes place right where I left off last time.**

* * *

Inside the motel room, Toby sat on his bed watching some crap television show. He heard a knock on his door and paused. Who could it be? He's not expecting any visitors. Toby got off the bed to answer the door. He was shocked to see a soaking wet Spencer standing out on the other side of the door. Her clothes are drenched and her hair, thanks to the rain, appears darker and stuck to the skin on her neck. Seeing her now is giving him a flashback of the night she got drunk and showed up on the corner of his driveway.

"Spencer," he said. "What are you…"

She cut him off by grabbing his face and kissed him right on the lips. Toby was stunned at first but wrapped his arms around her waist. When Spencer grabbed hold of him, she kind of pulled him outside. Now, they're both getting soaked from the rain. Spencer wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with as much passion that she could master up. Toby tried his best to match her movements. Having Spencer show up here and kiss him like this is not what he expected.

The rain falling around them lightened up a bit, but they're still getting soaked from it. When air became needed, Spencer pulled her lips away from his slowly and stroked the side of his head with her thumb. Toby looked back at her breathless. Right now her makeup is smudged all over her face yet, she still looks beautiful.

"Um, you're a little wet," he said.

She laughed, "no kidding."

He dropped his hands from her waist, "do you want to come get dried off inside?"

She nodded him and followed him inside the motel room. While he was getting something for her to wear, Spencer looked around his motel room. It's got a double bed in the middle with a nightstand on each side. There's an old television set up against the wall facing his bed. Next to the T.V. is a dresser and a full-length mirror. Toby walks over to his black bag that's sitting on the blue chair in the corner. He pulls out a pair of pajama pants and a blue, long-sleeved shirt. He holds them up for her to see just as she's turning her head towards him.

"Okay," he started. "Do you want the top or bottom?"

Spencer gave him a look like he was being series. Did he really just ask her that? Toby smiled and tossed the shirt over to her.

"I'm just kidding."

Toby kept the pajama pants for himself and locked himself in the bathroom to get changed real quick. Spencer smiled and picked up his shirt. She sniffed it and her smile widened. Yup, it smells just like him. She hopes he knows that he's never getting this shirt back. It's hers now. Toby comes out of the bathroom and says it's all hers. Spencer gets off the bed and disappears behind the door. When she emerges from the bathroom, Toby is just pulling down the covers and fluffing up the pillows. He turns around to see her legs coming out of his shirt. His shirt goes down to her waist and her legs carry on for miles. He swallows over the lump in his throat and forces his gaze away from her body.

"You can have this side of the bed. I got it ready for you."

"Thank you."

She sat down on the firm bed and crossed her left leg over her right. Toby sat on the other side. Neither of them knows what to talk about. They figured they should probably talk about what happened today.

"The French teacher really liked our presentation today," Spencer said.

The embarrassment came over him once again. He doesn't know why he feels so embarrassed about kissing her in class. Especially after the way she kissed him just fifteen minutes ago.

"Did she?" He said fumbling with his fingers.

"Yeah, she said it was very creative and one of the best presentations see's seen since she started teaching French. I think we really hit it off."

"That's good."

"Toby," she places her hand over his. He looks at her, "you can stop acting like that."

"Acting like what?"

She half-smiled, "like you're embarrassed for kissing me. You shouldn't be."

"I know," he looked down at their hands touching. "I don't know why I was so embarrassed. I've never done something so daring like that before and I wasn't even sure if you liked me like that."

"So kissing me wasn't embarrassing, just the timing."

"I guess," he shrugged. "I ran out of the room in embarrassment to avoid being yelled at and teased. When I saw the look of shock on your face afterward, I was sure you didn't like me. Then again what do I know? God, the whole thing was embarrassing."

"Well," she trailed off and turned his head so he's looking at her. She pulls him in and presses her lips deeply against his. She kisses him so he feels it. He kisses her back softly. She pulls away, looks at him, and smiles.

"Now do you feel embarrassed?"

He shakes his head as a short smile spreads across his face, "No."

She smiles once again and brings him back in for another kiss. This time Toby held her face and leaned into her. They sat on the bed like that for a few minutes just kissing. The whole time Toby felt like his heart and lungs were on fire. He didn't know what Spencer was thinking, but she must be happy about this. He pulled back instantly when he came to a realization. Spencer looked at him wearily.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just," he shook his head and scooted away. She let her hands fall back on the bed and gave him the space he clearly needs.

"What is this?" He asked.

She shook her head, "what is what?"

"This," he gestured between them. "Like are we still just friends or more? We kissed does this mean we're going out now? What are we? Do we go back to school and pretend none of this ever happened?"

"Woah, Toby, slow down," she catches his hands. "This works anyway we want it too."

"We?" He asked.

She nodded, "that's right, we."

"So there is an us?"

"I'd say so, I didn't come all the way out here in the pouring rain to kiss you for nothing. I think we should give us a try and see how things go."

"Is this what you want?" He asked. "I don't want you to feel like you have to be stuck in this just because I kissed you in front of everyone. I don't want you doing me any favors."

She stopped him with a short kiss. She pulled away after a second and cupped his face.

"I'm not doing this as a favor. I'm doing this because I like you. You're sweet, kind, and funny. You're the only one who's ever done something to protect me. You can make me laugh when other people can't. I care about you and I know that you care about me. You care about me more than anyones ever have." She brushes her thumb against his cheek. "I really like you."

"I really like you too."

"Good," she smiled. "So it's official. We're together."

She kissed him goodnight before turning over to lay on her side. Toby smiled to himself before reaching above her to turn out the lights. He laid his head down on his pillow and lied so he's facing the back of her head. He can't believe after waiting so many years, Spencer is finally his girl. Well, for now she is. For all he knows their relationship could last a month and it will all be over. Whatever time he gets with her, he doesn't plan on wasting it. He's going to treasure every waking moment he gets with her. 'Cause some moments are better than none.

* * *

The next morning, Spencer and Toby sat happily together in the brew drinking their coffee that Toby bought for them. They talked and smiled at each other all the morning. Now that they're a newbie couple, people might say they're in the honeymoon phase. They talked about the possibility of them going on a date this coming Friday. Spencer told him he doesn't have to try to be the 'perfect boyfriend' that plans dates every weekend and brings her flowers three times a week. Toby assured her their relationship wouldn't be sappy like that. He just wants to take her out on one nice date on Friday. Spencer accepted his offer with a smile on her face. Half way through their conversation Aria, Hanna, and Emily came in. They stepped in line and paused when they saw Toby and Spencer sitting at the same table. They saw how happy Spencer looks just talking to him.

"Are we really going to do this?" Hanna whispered.

"Yes," Emily said. "Come on you guys we owe this to the both of them. Spencer's never going to forgive us if we don't at least try to make amends with Toby."

"Fine," Hanna sighed.

The three of them walked over to their table and stopped suddenly. Spencer tore her eyes away from Toby and looked at them. Spencer kept her guard up for both Toby and herself.

"Can I help you guys with something?" She said sharply.

"We came over to apologize," Emily said.

"Is that so?"

"We want to apologize to Toby," Aria said. "Since middle school we've been horrible to you and you didn't deserve any of it. I'm sorry I let Noel pick on you and for everything I said."

"We let people be a jerk and that wasn't right of us," Hanna said. "But we're not going to let it happen anymore. Watching people be a jerk to you made us even bigger jerks. Instead of standing up, we stood by. I'm sorry for that."

"I can't apologize for Alison, but I can say I'm sorry for myself. Especially when it's the truth," Emily said. "Seeing the way you act around Spencer has opened up a new door for us. We see you in a totally different way. We should never have picked on you. I'm sorry I've done nothing to stop Alison or Andrew or any of those jerks. I'm also sorry Spencer. For not being their for you all those times you needed me. When you needed us."

"Now you guys are starting to sound like the friends I know," Spencer said with a smile.

"So, does this mean you forgive us," Emily beamed.

"It took a lot of courage for you guys to come in here and apologize," Toby said. "We've all made mistakes. You girls made the mistake of believing lies. I can forgive mistakes."

"Thank you, Toby," Emily said. "We are really sorry. This wasn't just a pity tosse."

"I know that," Toby nodded and stood up. "Spencer I'll get you a coffee to go."

Spencer nodded and watched him step back in line. When he was out of sight, Spencer turned to the girls and frowned.

"Those apologizes better be real, because they sounded damn good."

"They are real," Aria said.

"We meant every word we said, Spencer," Hanna said. "We have been crappy friends to you. We've been crappy people to the both of you. I just don't know if I can forgive myself. You've always been their for us, Spence. Alison got to us with her stupid lies. Sometimes I wish I never got sucked into her world."

"Same here," Emily said.

Spencer softened, "Alison does have a way of getting into people's heads. There was a time where I was in her world."

"Please say that you forgive us," Aria said.

"I do," she said. "But it's going to take sometime for you guys to redeem yourself. For now on, prove that you're sorry with your actions. I want my loyal friends back. The ones I met back in middle school."

"Of course," Hanna said smiling.

Spencer smiled and allowed the three girls to hug her. It felt nice being in the middle of one of their hugs again.

"What's one way we can redeem ourselves?" Hanna asked.

"I'm not sure," Spencer said. "Actually I do know. On Friday, Toby wants to take me out on a date."

"A date!" Hanna exclaimed. "So, you two are together."

"Yes, and…"

"Uh," Hanna cuts her off. "Say no more. We'll be there to help you get ready."

Spencer smiled, "thanks guys. I'll tell you more at school."

"Yay, she's going to talk to us at school again!" Aria squealed and the others laughed.

Spencer said goodbye to the girls just as Toby was bringing her coffee over. He hands it to her and she thanks him with a kiss to the cheek. He smiles and takes her hand. Together they walk out and take a walk around town. While they walked around, people gave Toby judgemental looks. Toby worried that Spencer would feel weird. Spencer's angry that so many people in town hate Toby for now reason. No one, except the girls know about her relationship with Toby, but they're about to know. She stopped them in their tracks and leaned up to plant a soft, passionate kiss on his lips. She pulled away leaving Toby breathless. People in town whispered and turned around from them. Spencer smiled not giving a damn in the world what people think. She takes his hand and laces their fingers together. Toby smiles at her and they continue walking happily down the sidewalk.

* * *

 **Spencer and Toby are official! Who's happy about that? How long will their relationship last? How will people at school react to seeing them together? Next chapter you will get the reaction of students at school and part of Spoby's date night. Review this chapter and I'll update soon!**


	17. Chapter 17

Monday starts a new day of school at Rosewood high. It will be the first time people see Spencer and Toby together as a couple. Well, not the first time, but it will be the first time they attend school as a couple. They know people will say stuff, but they can't bring themselves to care. All they care about is each other. On Monday morning, Spencer came downstairs and rushed around to get her stuff ready. She doesn't have time to make coffee to-go, so she'll have to get some during lunch. Pray to god she'll get through the morning with just one cup. Like every day, she swung by Toby's place to pick him up. When they got to school, the two of them walked up the school steps and stood outside the front doors.

"Well," Toby said.

"Well, what?" She asked.

"How do you want to go in? Do we stand far apart? Do I walk behind you?"

Spencer takes his hand and laces her fingers through his. Together they walk through the front door. Inside the school Aria, Hanna, and Emily stood at their lockers talking to one another. Alison is with Andrew, Noel, and Sean talking about what they did over the weekend. The front door of the school opened and two figures came through. Everyone stopped to stare at the strange couple making their way down the hall. The gum that Alison was chewing almost fell out of her mouth when she saw. Noel and Sean were stunned. And when Andrew saw the new couple, he was boiling mad. Spencer didn't even pay attention to everyone watching them. Aria, Hanna, and Emily saw them coming and smiled. Spencer smiled back and led Toby over to her friends.

"Hey, guys."

"Oh my god, you're together!" Hanna exclaimed. "I mean you told us over the weekend you were, but seeing you walk around school holding hands like this."

"You two look so good together," Aria said. "It's strange to say and I never thought you two would be together, but I like seeing you two together."

Spencer smiled, "thank you."

Hanna was digging around in her bag for her notes in English, but she can't seem to find them. There's a big test today over the book they read and she forgot her notes at home.

"Hey, does anyone have the notes for AP English?" Hanna asked.

"Hanna you forgot your notes again," Emily said.

"Sorry, I'm not like Spencer and check my bag five times before heading to school!"

Spencer pulled the notes out of her locker and handed them over to Hanna. Hanna's lucky one of her friends has the notes otherwise she'd be screwed. The bell rang and they all scurried off to class. Spencer and Toby walked to French class together just like every day. Down at the end of the hall Alison and Andrew stood watching them. Neither one of them are happy about the school's new pairing.

"This is not good," Alison hissed.

"Tell me about it," Andrew replied. "I mean how does Spencer end up with a loser like him! What does he have that I don't?"

"Spencer's trying to turn that freak into something. We can't allow that. If they continue dating, we'll lose our spot as top to the food chain. I'm not going to let that happen."

"I don't like Toby with my woman. Spencer belongs with me!" He hissed.

"And Spencer you will get. I'll help you if you help me."

He shook her hand and said, "deal."

Lunch time came around and Spencer sat with Toby. They started off alone until someone pulled a chair out and sat down. It was Noel who sat down. Spencer looked up and glared at him.

"Well, well, well," Noel smirked. "Look who just became Rosewood High's newest couple. It's Spencer Nerd Hastings and Toby Cavanobody."

Spencer folded her hands on the tabletop and smiled, "and look at you putting words into actual sentences."

Noel bit down on his bottom lip to stop his smirk from washing off his face. He can't let Spencer Hastings get to him and he wouldn't. Spencer feels the exact same way. Noel Khan doesn't bother her. What bothers her is when he messes with Toby for no reason. She finally thought people were done messing with him. Then Noel just has to come in and ruin it.

"Snappy remark, Hastings, but it doesn't bother me."

"Why are you over here Noel? Just go back to the Idiot Farm where you belong."

"Hey, I just came over here to have a friendly conversation. I'd love to hear your little love story."

"Here's a story for ya," Spencer said. "It's the story about the dumb jerk who got up and left!"

"Hey, did you hear that Toby!" Noel grinned. "Better get up and go!"

"Get the hell out of here Noel!" Spencer yelled.

Noel fluttered his eyelashes, "you could say please."

"Go!" Spencer hissed.

Noel chuckled and rose to his feet. Once he was gone, Spencer sighed and threw her head into her hands. Pretty soon she felt a pair of hands reach out to rub her shoulders. She knew by the person's hands that they are Toby's. A small smile spread across her face.

"I know what you're thinking," she started. "But no matter how much you rub my shoulders, you can't massage all the stress outta me."

Toby chuckled, "no, but I can try."

She lifted her head up and he let go of her shoulders. It's so much easier having him around. She doesn't know how she got along without him for so long.

* * *

The rest of the school week went by quickly. Friday came and Spencer couldn't be more excited. Tonight Toby is taking her out on their very first day. Her friends plan on coming over later after school to help her get ready. They went shopping on Wednesday for new fall outfits, so hopefully they can help her find something decent to wear. During lunch, Spencer sat with the girls since Toby had something to take care of at school.

"Are you excited for your date tonight?" Emily asked.

Spencer took a bit off her sandwich and swallowed real quick before answering, "absolutely."

"What are you guys going to do?" Aria asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know. Toby wants to keep tonight a secret."

"Aw, a secret date night," Aria said. "How romantic."

"How do you know he's not planning to drive you far away to the middle of nowhere, so he can rape you then dump you," Hanna said.

"Hanna!" The other two girls said.

"What," Hanna eyed them. "I'm just kidding."

"The only thing Toby told me was that it would be a night I will never forget," Spencer said.

"It's so sweet that Toby wants to keep tonight a secret to impress you," Emily said.

"Do you think you're going to have sex tonight?" Hanna blurted out.

"Hanna!"

Spencer smiled, "I don't thinks so."

"Okay," Hanna handed over her purse and winked. "Because if you change your mind, I got all you need right here."

"Put that away, Hanna!" Emily hissed.

The school day came to an end and everyone left to start their big weekend plans. After dropping Toby off at home and promising to meet him tonight at 7, she drove home. When she got home she was surprised to find her mother waiting for her in the kitchen with what appeared to be a piece of paper in her hand. What did she do now?

"Hi, mom," Spencer set her bag on the kitchen stole. "I didn't expect you home."

"Clearly. You've been slacking off thinking I wouldn't find out," she snapped.

"Find out about what?"

"About your paper in Physics. You got a 94 on it!'

"So," Spencer shrugged. "That's not bad. It's still an A."

"Yeah," Veronica slapped the paper on the counter top. "An A-. I told you Spencer. Your father and I both told you if you want to succeed, you have to do better."

"But I am doing better!" She argued. "I've never gotten that high of a grade on a Physics paper."

"You need to do better. This weekend you are grounded."

"Grounded?" Spencer questioned. "You can't ground me. At least not tonight. I have plans to hangout with a friend."

"Well, then I guess you're going to have to cancel them! No friends this weekend, no going out. You just stay home and work on school work. Now, get up stairs!"

Spencer huffed in annoyance and marched upstairs. Her parents are the worst. They just had to ground her on the one weekend she actually has plans. What is she going to tell Toby? If she tells him she can't make it on their date, he's going to think she changed her mind. She already texted Hanna telling her she and the other girls don't have to come over. They asked why and she just said her mother is trying to ruin her life. She was about to call Toby until her mother came up and took her phone. Now, she's really screwed.

* * *

It's a ten till seven and Toby's getting ready to leave any minute to meet Spencer at the spot they agreed on meeting. His father is away on a road trip with a couple of his drinking buddies. It's been pretty nice without his father around. Gives his old bruises sometime the heal before getting new ones. Which is something that doesn't happen very often. Toby was just in the middle of fixing his hair when the doorbell rang. It was strange hearing the doorbell, because nobody ever uses it. Besides Spencer, nobody really comes here. Even when she comes over she usually knocks. Toby forget they even had a doorbell. The doorbell rang out again. Toby set his styling comb down and went to answer the door. He was surprised to see Emily standing on the other side.

"Emily," he said. "Did you need something?"

"I'm here about Spencer."

Concern came over him, "why? Is she okay?"

"She's fine it's just… Spencer can't make it to the date and she's very sorry."

Toby's heart fell into the pit of his stomach. He was afraid of this happening. Spencer coming to the relation that all he is is some loser. He knew it wouldn't take long for her to realize he's not the one she wants. At least he got one week with her. Emily caught on to the look on his face.

"Toby it's not like that," she assured him. "Spencer really, really wanted to go on this date with you tonight, but her mom got mad over a grade and now Spencer's grounded this whole weekend."

"Oh," a little big a hope resurfaced. "So, Spencer's grounded?"

"Yeah," Emily bit her lip. "She wants you to know how sorry she is about this and she would've called to let you know, but her mom took her phone before she got the chance."

"How did she contact you?"

"She texted Hanna right before her mom took her phone."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry."

He smiled softly, "it's not your fault. I'll just have to come up with something else.

"Like what?"

His smile widened, "I have a couple ideas."

8:05 and Spencer has done nothing but sit in her room staring at the wall. Occasionally she would get out her book and read. The sunset a while ago and now it's pretty much dark outside. She feels really bad about having to miss her date with Toby. She was really looking forward to it. There's no way for her to sneak out because her mother is downstairs in the kitchen looking at new cases. A lit tapping sound on her window startled her a bit. Is there a mask murder trying to climb in through the window? The tapping sound occurs again. Sighing, Spencer rolls off the bed and goes over to see who's out there. She rolls up the curtain and almost screams seeing somebody sitting out on the branch right outside her window. Luckily she recognized Toby's figure before a yelp could escape. She unlocked the window and pushed it up making sure it wouldn't fall on her. She sat on the windowsill.

"Toby," she smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

Her smile faded, "you're here to find out if I stood you up. I'm sorry Toby. My mother grounded me at the last minute. This totally sucks."

He nodded, "I know. Emily stopped by this evening and told me."

"Emily?" She titled her head. "She really did that for me?"

"Yup," he nodded again. "You got some pretty good friends there, Hastings."

"Yeah," she smiled. "It just sucks we had to miss our date."

He raised an eyebrow, "did we?"

She gave him a look and he just smiled. Toby took the bag he had on off his shoulder and handed it over to her. Spencer held the bag while he pulled a few things out of it. He pulled out a couple sandwiches he bought at the Grill, some brownies Emily made for them, and a bottle of apple juice. She laughed when he pulled out the apple juice.

"What is all of this?" She asked.

"This," he paused to smile at her. "Is our date."

She giggled, "right here with me sitting in my room and you out there on that tree branch? You could fall and break your neck."

His smile only widened, "then the night I fall and break my neck will still be the best first date I have with you Spencer Hastings."

He handed her a chicken sandwich and she took it without saying a word. It's cute how he knows what kind of sandwich he likes. No one has ever gotten her order right. Toby unwrapped his turkey and ham. They sat their eating their food and made small talk. Toby said things that made her laugh but she had to be careful not to laugh too loud.

"So, what bad grade did you get?" He asked.

She rolled her eyes, "it's stupid. My mom got mad over me getting a 94 on my paper."

"The one you did for Physics?" She nodded. "A 94 is not bad at all."

"I know, but it's not good enough for the Hastings family," she looked down and muttered. "Nothing I do is good enough for this family."

"If your family can't see just how amazing you are then they're the ones that need a reality check."

"Thanks," she half smiled. "How's your family? I mean your dad."

"Ugh," he shook his head. "I don't like talking about my father."

"I'm sorry," she quickly apologized. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"That's okay," he smiled. "You were just curious. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah. So," she twisted her bottom lip. "You said something about Emily making brownies?"

He chuckled and held up the container. Spencer took one of the brownies and bit into it. Biting into it was like biting into a piece of heaven. Toby had a brownie as well and he too thought they were amazing. Since Toby forgot to bring cups along, they just took turns drinking straight from the juice bottle. They finished up their food and most of the apple juice. Toby took the leftovers and put them back in his bag. For a few minutes, they just sat there talking.

"Thank you for tonight, Toby," she smiled sincerely at him. "I had a lot of fun."

"I had a lot of fun too. You know for someone who had to sit out here on a tree branch getting eaten alive by mosquitos," he joked. "But, it was totally worth it."

"We should do this again sometime. Maybe sometime where we don't have to talk to each other through a window."

He nodded, "I'd really like that."

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his softly, "best first date I've ever had."

"Best first date I've ever had too," he said putting emphasis on the first date. He looked down at their combined hands and played with her fingers. "You know normally this is the time I would walk you home and kiss you goodnight, but we're already at your house."

"Guess you'll just have to skip to the part where you kiss me goodnight."

He smiled and leaned into kiss her softly. She brought her hands up to frame his face and kissed him back. Their lips moved together in a soft, slow motion. It wasn't sloppy and they didn't turn it into a tongue war. They kept it romantic and sweet. After a minute, they pulled away. Toby's eyes gleamed with such happiness. Happiness that Spencer's never seen before. Her eyes were also gleaming.

"Goodnight, Spencer," he said sweetly.

"Goodnight, Toby."

He pecked her on the lips then made his first move to get down. Spencer watched to make sure he got down okay before closing the window. He made it to the bottom and landed safely on the ground. He smiled and waved at Spencer to which she returned. Once Toby was out of sight, Spencer closed her window and rolled down the curtain. That night Spencer Hastings went to bed with a smile on her face. Something that hasn't happened in a very long time. Guess Toby Cavanaugh has that effect on her.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! What did you think of this chapter? The beginning wasn't too great, but hopefully it got better at the end. What did you think of the Spoby date? Was it cute? Was it bad? Review your thoughts. Until next time!**


	18. Chapter 18

Spencer and Toby have been together for a month now and things between them are going great. They spend a lot of time together when Spencer's not with her friends. Sometimes Toby would even go along with Spencer and her friends. He sits with them at lunch now that way Spencer doesn't have to choose between sitting with her friends or sitting with her boyfriend. They five of them have formed a close bond. Besides Spencer, Toby and Emily have become pretty good friends when they discovered they have similar taste in music. Today is Friday and the five of them are sitting together at lunch discussing their weekend plans.

"Thanks for making me this mixtape, Toby," Emily said with a grin on her face.

Earlier this week Emily and Toby talked about two of their favorite bands doing a collide together. This weekend Emily is going with her mom to visit her dad in Texas. She won't be back until Tuesday and she talked about how bored she'll be. Emily's happy to see her dad, but she doesn't want to be bored out of her mind the whole time. So, Toby got the idea to make Emily a mixtape to listen to on her trip.

"You're welcome, Em."

"It just sucks that I can't be here for your birthday," Emily said.

"Toby's birthday is this weekend?" Hanna perked up.

"Yes," Spencer said. "Actually, today's his birthday."

"Oh my gosh," Hanna exclaimed. "What kind of friends are we to not even notice that it's your birthday."

"That's okay," Toby chuckled. "Nobody's ever paid much mind to my birthday's."

"Oh, I would do something if I didn't have that stupid therapy session with Dr. Sullivan," Hanna groaned.

"No, I understand."

"I bet Spencer has something planned," Aria said.

Toby looked at Spencer and she smiled sadly, "if you count me making him spend two hours in his bedroom conjugating verbs in French," she said.

"Don't make the boy do homework on his birthday," Hanna exclaimed.

"Actually, it was my idea," Toby said. "Spencer has this dinner tonight for her father to go to."

"My parents told me to come home right after school lets out so I have time to get ready for it," Spencer explained. "The dinners at 6 and school gets out at 3:15, but I told my mom I have to tutor somebody and she told me to come home right after I'm done with tutoring."

"Oh," Hanna smirked. "So, while you're parents think you're busy tutoring Toby, you're really going to be busy doing…"

"French," Spencer cut in. "That's what we're really going to do, Hanna."

"Yeah, okay," Hanna picked up her bottle of water and winked at Spencer.

Spencer rolled her eyes and just let Hanna believe whatever the crazy blonde wants to. Across the cafeteria, Alison, Noel, Andrew, and Caleb sat together sneering at the newly formed group. Thanks to Toby Freaking Cavanaugh and Spencer Hastings, their big group has split into two. Now, people are less intimidated by Alison's group. Out of all of them, Alison and Andrew are the most pissed about this new group.

"Look at them," Alison hissed. "They make me sick."

"Thanks to Spencer and Toby, those losers are now the cool group of the school," Noel said. "And we're over here being tossed to the side like this crappy school lunch."

"You got to be kidding me," Alison rolled her eyes.

"What?" Andrew said.

Alison chuckled, "they're allowing loser Mona and Hermie to sit with them." She scuffled. "Unbelievable."

"They're trying to turn losers into cool people," Noel shook his head.

"Noel you used to date Mona," Caleb reminded him.

"I know," Noel made a face. "I only did it because she's was the one girl I could find that didn't mind throwing down on the first date."

"That's a jerk move," Caleb said.

"Well," Noel smirked. "They don't call me the jerk for nothing."

"Spencer is turning this whole school into something. All the people who used to fear us are now turning against us or no longer feel threatened by us," Alison said. "Big mistake."

"Something has to be done about this," Andrew said.

"Oh come on guys," Caleb said. "So Toby made a few friends. He's just trying to get through high school like the rest of us."

"Don't tell me you're turning into one of them," Noel said.

Alison smirked as a wicked idea crossed her mind. It's probably the worst idea she's ever come up with, but to her it's brilliant. If they're going to tear down that group, they need someone from our group to get in theirs and tear them all down from the inside. Someone they kind of trust. Someone they know very well and used to be their moral compass. Alison knows just the idiot for the job.

"Maybe that's what Caleb should do," Alison said as an evil grin spread across her face.

"What?" Caleb questioned.

"Are you and Hanna still dating?" She asked.

"Uh, we've been out couple times, but nothing's official.

"Then I think it's time you made things official," Alison said.

"What do you mean?"

"We need somebody on the inside to find out all their secrets. You're going to tell Hanna that you want to be her boyfriend."

"Why?"

Alison's grin grew wider, "because if you're dating Hanna then everyone else will start to think you're one of them. You're going to date Hanna, get close to all of them in her group. Especially Toby. Caleb, I want you to find out all their dirty little secrets and report them back to us. That way we can use their secrets to tear them all down."

"What!?" Caleb exclaimed. "No, I-I won't do that. I'm not going to use Hanna like that."

"Oh, so now you care about Hanna?" Andrew questioned.

"She's a nice girl and just like the rest of them, they're not easy on letting other people in," Caleb said.

"Then make her let you in," Alison said. "Earn her trust then earn everyone else's trust. While doing so, report back to us. You can have the favor of giving us all a good laugh at their pathetic little lives."

"You were friends with them for awhile, Ali," Caleb said. "Shouldn't you know enough about them."

She shook her head, "not their dark secrets. Not the ones that hurt to talk about deep down. That's your job to find out what those secrets are. Now, do it."

"I can't," Caleb whispered.

"Okay," Alison shrugged. "If you won't do it then I'll just have to make a call to the school and let them know who's been really sneaking in after school hours to break into the vending machines. I may even throw a bone out to your foster family about where you are. You're choice."

* * *

"Jamie aime aller courir." Spencer spoke fluently.

Toby cleared his throat and tried repeating what she said, "um Jamie anmie aller corir."

"No," Spencer laughed. "Say it like this. Jamie aime aller courir."

"Jamie aime aller courir," he said.

Spencer nodded, "good."

"What did you have me say?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean for all I know you could've made me say 'Jamie likes having sex with monkeys'."

"No," Spencer laughed. "That is not what I had you say."

Toby smiled, "I know. I just wanted to hear you laugh."

She smiled and leaned forward, "so, what do you think I made you say?"

"I said, 'Jamie likes to go running."

"And Bingo was his nam-o."

It was Toby's turn to laugh now. Hearing him laugh made her smile. Just like hearing her laugh makes him smile.

"Sera votre maman sortir avec moi?" Toby asked and Spencer started laughing really hard. Toby squinted his eyes in confusion. "What's so funny?"

She tried to respond, but she could barely breath because she was laughing so hard. Toby didn't understand what was so funny.

"What?" He asked.

Spencer calmed her laughter long enough to tell him,"d-do you k-know what you just s-said to me?" He shook his head. "You just asked me if my mom will go out with you."

Suddenly, Toby felt embarrassed. Did he really just say that? He really needs to work on his French more. He almost felt bad until he saw Spencer tumble over on her side from laughing so hard. All embarrassment he felt quickly vanished when he saw how happy she looks. It was he who got that reaction out of her. He's the one who made her laugh. He's the one that put that wide smile on her face. Knowing that takes away any embarrassment he previously felt. Pretty soon, he was laughing too. Spencer calmed down and sat herself back up on his bed. She stopped laughing, but that smile never left her face.

"What I meant to say," he spoke up. "Will you go out with me tomorrow night?"

"Yes," she said as her smile grew wider. "Unless you really meant to ask my mom. It's so kind of you to ask for my permission first."

Her laughter was restored when Toby grabbed hold of her and started tickling her. What nobody else knows, is that Spencer is very ticklish on her sides. Once again, Spencer fell back on Toby's bed this time with Toby above her. He stopped tickling her and just looked at her. He loves the way her eyes light up when she smiles like that. A smile looks good on her.

"Are you done tickling me?" She asked with a sly smile.

"Are you done teasing me?"

"I can't help it," she brushed her hand over his cheek playfully. "You're so fun to pick on."

"Well," Toby smirked. "I guess I'll have to keep you here until you learn how to behave yourself.

"Fine," she smirked. "I'm perfectly fine with just lying here looking into your beautiful eyes." He closed his eyes and she laughed. "What are you doing?"

"Can't look at my eyes if their closed," he smiled.

Spencer shook her head and smiled. While his eyes were closed, Spencer placed her hand on the side of his face. She tilted her head up and kissed him softly. Toby felt her lips connect with his and a million little sparks shot through his body. He moved his hands down her sides to her waist. Spencer tore her lips away when she saw the time. It's 5:48 that means she's running late. Toby finally opened his eyes and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Is it time to go?"

She nodded and sighed sadly, "it's time."

He sighed too, but his smile quickly returned, "thanks for the tutoring."

Her lips curled up into a smile, "thanks for the help on my Physics homework."

"Anytime," he leaned down to kiss her softly. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

They climbed off Toby's bed and began their slow walk back to the Hastings manor. The walk home was mostly silent. They talked more about going out tomorrow night. Since the night Toby climbed up her tree and had their date right outside her bedroom window, they had two other real dates. Their second date was breakfast at a diner he and his mother used to go to. Then, their third date they went to see a movie. They finally reached her street and ventured up her driveway. He stopped her right outside her front door and pulled her in for a kiss. When they finally broke apart, Spencer smiled with her arms still attached around his neck.

"Wow," she giggled softly. "You sure know how to walk a girl home."

He wiggled his eyebrow, "and you sure know how to make two hours of my birthday make up for the last 16 years without celebrating one."

"There's something I forgot to say today."

"You don't have to feel bad for not getting me anything," he assured her. "Spending a couple hours with you today was as good of a gift as any."

"You're so sweet," she smiled. "But I actually do have something for you."

He smiled in amusement, "you do?"

"Yeah. It's in my purse."

Spencer unzipped her purse and started digging around for her his gift. Toby stood with his hands in his pockets waiting for whatever it is she has to give him. Honestly, just spending time with her was enough to make his birthday a good one.

"Dammit," she muttered.

"What?"

She groaned and took her hands out of her purse, "I don't have the gift in my purse. I must've left it in my purse at school."

"That's okay," he assured her. "You can give it to me on Monday."

"Oh wait!" She snapped her fingers and smiled. "I remember now. This morning I was in a hurry to get to school. I was rushing around trying to put myself together. Your present I had hidden in my nightstand drawer and before I went downstairs, I grabbed it then ran downstairs. Then, my grandmother called on the home phone so I set your gift down on the desk next to the phone. After I got off the phone, I ran out the door without grabbing your gift. It's inside."

"That is a lot to remember," he said.

"Well, they say retracing your steps helps."

"You don't mind if I come in with you then? Might save you the trouble of having to walk back out here."

"Not at all," she smiled.

Toby waited for her to unlock the door. She pushed it open and they walked inside together. They entered through the front and walked into the living room. When they got into the living room, some guest jumped out from nowhere and yelled.

"Surprise!"

* * *

 **Surprise! Looks like Toby just got surprised on his birthday. Next chapter will continue right where I left off. Actually, I may even give you a glimpse of what everyone else was doing leading up to Toby's surprise party. Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter. Review, maybe, please.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Toby's birthday pt. 2. With an extra cute Spoby moment at the end that you do not want to miss.**

* * *

After Toby walked Spencer to the library for free period, she kissed his cheek then walked inside. Right now he's going to woodshop. As soon as Toby left her, Spencer skipped over to a table in the back of the library where Hanna, Aria, and Emily sat waiting for her. The three girls shared a smile to which she returned. Spencer took a seat and sat across from Emily and next to Hanna.

"So," Hanna beamed, "Does Toby suspect anything?"

"Nope," Spencer smirked. "He doesn't know anything about the surprise part. He believes we're all busy and the only thing we're going to do is work on French."

"Silly boy," Aria shook his head. "He should know you by now to know you would go out of your way to make today special for Toby."

"Well, Toby's never had friends like this before and I want his 18th birthday to be one that he remembers."

"Are you sure his father doesn't have anything planned?" Emily asked.

"I'm sure," Spencer rolled her eyes. "His father's not very reliable when it comes to caring about his son."

"What's the deal with Toby and his father anyway?" Hanna asked.

Spencer shrugged and said, "I don't. Toby just made it clear that he and his father don't get along. Not since his mother passed away."

"Aw, that's so sad," Aria said.

"Okay," Hanna banged her hands on the table. "Back to planning his party."

"Right," Spencer smiled. "So, here's the plan. Hanna you're going to buy food and drinks right?"

Hanna nodded, "drinks and food are on my to-do list."

"Okay, Toby's favorite soda is Orange. He also likes Pepsi. His favorite foods are popcorn, snickers, and pizza. You get any of those three and you make the best friend of the month with him."

"Sweet," Hanna grinned.

"Emily you'll be buying decorations and I'll give you a key to my back door so you guys can get in and start setting up. You have two hours after school to get this thing put together. I'll try to keep Toby preoccupied until then."

"I know a way that you can keep Toby preoccupied," Hanna said with a wink.

Everyone at the table gave Hanna a look. Spencer gave Hanna her special look. Hanna sighed and stuck her hand out across the table. Spencer simply took Hanna's hand and lightly smacked the back of it. Hanna pouted and put her hand back down under the table.

"What kind of music is Toby into?" Aria asked.

"Oh, Emily should be able to help you with the making a playlist if you don't mind."

"Actually, why don't I get party decorations and Emily makes the playlist. I think she knows Toby's taste in music better than I do," Aria suggested.

"Okay," Spencer shrugged and looked at Emily. "Em, are you cool with that?"

"Sure," Emily smiled.

"Okay," Spencer smiled in satisfaction. "Thank you guys for helping with this. I'll see you guys in about three hours."

"This party is going to be great," Hanna squealed.

The bell rang and all four girls stood up to leave. Hanna adjusted the strap to her bag over her shoulder and walked out. She made it to her locker and started collecting her stuff to leave. Just then her man crush, Caleb came strolling up to her with his best 'hey girl' look. Caleb stopped and leaned against one of the lockers.

"Sup, Hanna."

"What do you want, Caleb?"

Ever since the big group split up and Hanna decided to be friends with Spencer instead of Alison, things between Caleb and Hanna have been complicated. She still likes Caleb, a lot, and he likes her too. Hanna just doesn't like it when Caleb comes up acting like a douche.

"I just wanted to see what you're up do this weekend," he said.

"Well, shame for you I won't be sitting by the phone all night waiting for you to call me. I do have plans tonight."

She shut her locker and started walking. Caleb stepped out to block her path. He failed, and Hanna walked right passed him. Caleb sighed and followed her out to the parking lot.

"Hanna, wait up!" Caleb ran after her and turned her around.

"What Caleb!" She shouted. "Look, I get it alright? I called you seven times in the past two days and you never called me back once! I get it! I can take a hint. I won't bother you anymore. Just stop leading me on and making me believe you care about me."

She tried to leave and once again he stopped her, "Hanna, I do care about you."

"Seven missed calls and ten texts shows just how much you care."

"I'm sorry I haven't responded. I just got nervous," he admitted.

"Nervous about what?"

He sighed and looked down, "I really like you, Hanna. I wanted to be sure before I got with you and ended up hurting you. That's not what I want. I really do like you Hanna. You have to believe that."

She shook her head, "I don't know what I believe."

"It's too bad you have plans tonight," Caleb spoke. "I was going to take you to dinner tonight."

"Well like I said, I've already got plans."

"Doing what?"

"Helping a friend make today special."

With that, Hanna tore his hand off her shoulder and kept on walking to her car. She got in, started it up, and drove off. Caleb stood back and sighed watching her go. He really does like her, but he doesn't want Alison to use that to her advantage. He wants to be with Hanna, but he would be doing it for the wrong reasons. Which Isn't fair to the both of them.

* * *

"Wow, you guys. This place looks amazing." Hanna said in amazement while entering the Hastings's living room.

Aria and Emily got to Spencer's house and hour ago and they've been busy putting up decorations. Hanna was out buying stuff for tonight. Spencer gave her some money for shopping and Hanna decided to pay for half of it. Toby is her friend after all. Hanna sat down the six bags of food on the kitchen counter. Aria hopped down off the ladder after putting up the birthday banner.

"So," Aria put her hands on her hips and looked at the banner. "What do you think? Is it straight enough?"

"It looks good," Emily said.

"How are you coming with the playlist Emily?" Hanna asked.

"All done," Emily smiled.

"Come on. Let's see what kind of food Hanna got."

"I'm glad you asked," Hanna beamed and lead them over to the bags of food.

She opened up all the bags and started pulling out random food items. The were shocked at how much she got. Hanna got; Pringles, pretzels, crackers, hot Cheetos, different kinds of cookies, lots of snickers, different flavors of soda, and many boxes of pizza. Hanna got enough food for the whole block.

"Geez, Hanna. Did you get food to feed five or a whole army?" Aria joked.

Hanna was about to respond until they all heard voices coming from the other side of the door. The three girls froze. Spencer's here with Toby. They haven't even finished putting up all the decorations.

"Spencer's here with Toby," Aria hissed quietly. "Somebody help me put up this last streamer."

"Aria there's no time. We have to hide!" Emily said.

"Well, if they're outside making out right now, we might be okay with time," Hanna mumbled.

"Come on, Hanna!"

Emily tugged on her wrist. The three girls scrambled around looking for a place to hide. Aria crouched down behind the sofa. Emily hid behind the kitchen counter and Hanna hid behind the wall between the front entrance and the family room. They could hear Spencer and Toby talking and laughing on the other side of the door. Hanna rolled her eyes knowing that they're probably making out right now. A minute later the front door opened and the two walked into the living room.

The three girls jumped out and yelled, "surprise!"

Toby was startled a bit when the girls jumped out. Mostly be Hanna who was standing right behind the wall. At first he thought maybe he walked in on someone else's big surprise. He expected them to groan in despair after yelling surprise for the wrong person. But when he saw the grin on Spencer's face, he knew something was up. He looked back at the other girls who are also grinning from ear to ear. Then it clicked. This surprise is for him. These girls put this together for him. They did this for him. Nobody has ever done something like this before. He almost felt like crying. He could feel the begin of tears stinging the corner of his eyes. He turned to look at Spencer.

"D-did yo-u. Did you do all of this?"

Spencer only smiled, "I had a little help."

"But you planned this all for me?" He asked still in shock.

Spencer smiled and nodded. Hanna walked over to them and put one arm around the both of them.

"That's right, Spencer planned this out. She spent this whole week complaining to us not knowing what she should do for your birthday. It got sort of annoying listening to her go on and on about it, but eventually this idea came to mind. Why stay at home on your birthday when you can spend it with your three awesome friends and your amazing girlfriend."

Spencer and Toby both blushed at the word girlfriend. Neither one of them have really used the words girlfriend or boyfriend yet. Hearing somebody else say it just makes it all the more real. Toby eyed each of the girls in amazement. He could not believe someone would go through this much trouble just to put this together. He finally turned back to look at Spencer.

"I guess you weren't lying when you said my present was inside."

She smiled a big toothy smile, "no I wasn't."

"Just to be clear if you're not cool with this I totally suggested to Spencer that she takes you up to her room and shows you a happy birthday," Hanna said and winked. "If ya know what I mean."

Spencer mentally facepalmed herself and Toby chuckled. He put his arm around Spencer and pulled her against his chest.

"No, I love this," he looked around. "I love all of it. Thank you, guys so much for doing this for me."

Spencer let go of Toby so each of the girls could hug him. When he got done hugging all three of the girls, he rewrapped his arm around Spencer. She looked up at him and smiled. The five friends grabbed a paper plate and piled them up with food. They sat around playing games while listening to the playlist Emily put together. While they played games, each of the girls took turns telling stories from their childhood. They even got Toby to open up a little bit about his childhood. He tried to think back to a good time in his life. There weren't many, but he did have a couple stories to share about his mom.

"It's 9 o'clock," Spencer looked at her watch. "You know what that means?"

"What? Do the girls have to leave?" Toby asked.

"No," Spencer smiled. "It's time for birthday cake."

Hanna froze when she said cake. That's what she forgot to get. She spent the whole evening thinking that she forgot to get something, but she couldn't think of it. Hanna grabbed hold of Aria and Emily by the wrist and tugged them into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"I forgot to pick up a cake."

"What!" Aria exclaimed. "How do you forget a birthday cake? That's the best part of birthdays!"

"I forgot," Hanna exclaimed. "I had a whole list of things to get and I forgot to stop by Lucky's for a cake."

"So, what do we do?" Emily asked.

"We could have Spencer take Toby upstairs while we hurry around and bake one of our own," Hanna suggested.

It was a dumb idea, but for a second the two girls considered it. Just then there was a knock on the door. Hanna looked at the other girls. Spencer detangled herself from Toby's embrace and went to answer the door. Caleb stood out on the porch holding a white box. Spencer gave him a look wondering what he's doing here.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer snapped.

Caleb smiled and walked right passed her, "sorry I'm late. Hanna asked me earlier if I would help her out by picking up the cake. I would've gotten here sooner, but Hanna texted me the wrong address and traffic tonight was a bitch."

"Oh," Spencer said in surprise and shut the door. "Well, thank you."

"No problem," Caleb said. "So, where should I put this?"

"Uh, on the table is fine."

Caleb set the cake on the table and sent Hanna a wink. Hanna held her hand over her mouth to hid her smile. Maybe Caleb Isn't so bad after all. Toby blushed while the others stood around singing happy birthday. Spencer finished by giving Toby a peck on the lips. He blew out his candles and the other five cheered. Emily hugged him and Hanna and Aria patted him on the back. Toby's birthday turned out to be a big hit. After cake and ice cream, they gave Toby his presents. He was also not expecting to get gifts. He's never received a present in his entire life. His mother would buy him stuff when he was a baby up until he was three, but after that, she just couldn't afford to get him anything. Emily got him an mp3 player. Aria got him a leather jacket with a large T on the back. Hanna got him a new bike helmet for when he finally fixes his motorcycle. He thanked each of the girls for their amazing gifts.

* * *

After Toby opened his presents. Aria, Hanna, and Emily started cleaning up. Caleb offered to help Hanna take out the trash as if it's a two person job. Spencer tossed two forks into the sink when she realized that Toby's not inside anywhere. She looked around the living room and didn't see him. She looked out the kitchen door window and saw him sitting out on the patio. She grabbed her gray jacket and put it around her shoulders then, walked out into the bitter Autumn air.

"Hey, birthday boy," she smiled and sat down in one of the lawn chairs. "Why are you hiding out here?"

"I'm not hiding," he chuckled softly. "I'm just thinking."

"Oh, yeah," she raised an eyebrow. "Thinking about what?"

"Just thinking about how amazing this day has been and how I plan on remembering it for the rest of my life. Thinking about how amazing you are for actually putting this surprise together for me."

"Were you really surprised?"

"I was," he nodded. "Nobody's ever done this for me before and I… It's just unbelievable that someone would do this for me."

"Well, you better start believing," she smiled. "As long as you have me around, I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep you happy."

"Anything?" He smirked. "Like taking up one of Hanna's suggestions," he joked.

She laughed and playfully swatted his chest, "shut up. I think I have something else that will make you feel much happier."

Spencer reached for something out of her pocket. He looked confused when she held up a key chain with two keys on it.

"What are those for?" He asked.

She stood up and reached for his hand. He took it and they walked down the path to the back parking lot behind her house. His jaw dropped when he spotted a tan pickup truck parked in his driveway.

"Spencer," he stuttered. "What is that?"

She grinned and said, "that is your new truck."

He looked at her in awe," you got me a truck?"

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I like driving you around but when you start that job out of town, you're going to need a way of getting there."

His shocked expression was replaced with a huge grin. He looked at her then at the keys in her hands. Another thought came to mind. If one of those keys is for the truck, then what is the brass key for?

"What's this key for?" He asked pointing to it.

She smiled softly, "I'm glad you asked."

He took his hand at they sat down on the bench in her backyard. She took something else out of her pocket. It's a plain chain necklace. She turned Toby's hand over and placed the key and chain in his hand. He turned the key over and read what's engraved. **Spencer** is engraved on one side and **Heart** is engraved on the other. It took him a few seconds, but eventually he got it. He kept looking at the key.

"Spencer, is this?"

She nodded, "the key to my heart." He looked at her in amazement. "I know it's a little sappy to do this. It's even sappy for me. I'm not the type of girl to say things like 'oh this guy holds the key to my heart!'." She smiled, "now, you really own the key to my heart."

"Spencer I…"

He's speechless. That's all. He's just speechless. This gift right here. The key that he's holding in his hand is so much better than anything anyone's ever gave to him. It's better than the mp3 player or the jacket or the bike helmet. It's even better than that old tan truck sitting just ten feet away from them. He finally locked eyes with her and saw something he's never seen before.

"I love you."

Those words rolled off his tongue like honey. After a second of saying that, Toby feared what she would say. Did he say those three words too soon? Maybe he rushed it. But, when he saw that look in her eyes, the fear went away. Spencer stroked his cheek and smiled.

"I wanted to say that first."

He smiled too and cleared the space between them with his lips. She held his face and kissed him back with equal passion. No man knows a good gift until their girl practically gives him permission to hold the key to her heart. He knows that Spencer's had the key to his heart since the first day he laid eyes on her. This has definitely been the best birthday Toby's ever had. This had been the best day of his life so far.

* * *

 **Haha, okay, this chapter was a little sappy. Okay, no, it was a lot sappy. I hope some of you found it cute. I mean come on, who wouldn't? Next chapter you will get a little snip of Haleb. I hope you all don't mind. Don't worry, you'll get some Spoby too. Also, Toby's father makes a return next chapter. Dun, dun, dun.**

 **Thanks for reading. Please, leave a review and I'll update ASAP.**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm back with another chapter! R &R**

* * *

At the end of the night, Spencer and Toby stood in the doorway of the Hastings's front door. Toby is thanking all the girls and Caleb for throwing this surprise party together for him. He really had no idea. Nobody has ever done something like this for him before and now that some people have. Thanks to Spencer, tonight was the best night he's had so far.

"Happy birthday, Toby," Aria smiled. "I hope you had fun and didn't just pretend so you wouldn't hurt our feelings."

"More like so he doesn't piss off Spencer," Hanna joked.

Toby chuckled, "no, I really had a good time. I can't thank you guys enough for what you did."

"Well, you have a really cool girlfriend to plan all this for you," Caleb said.

Toby nodded in agreement and wrapped his arm around Spencer, "that I do."

"We better get going," Emily said while checking her watch.

"Alright, Em, can you give me a ride home?" Aria asked.

"Sure," Emily took out her car keys. "Hanna do you need a ride too?"

"Actually, no, I drove my car here," she said.

Emily nodded then hugged Toby before walking out with Aria. Hanna asked Caleb if he needed a ride home and he said yes, so they left together. The two watched all their friends leave from Spencer's front door. Spencer waved goodbye to them one last time before shutting the door. Toby sighed once the door shut.

"So," Toby spoke.

"So?"

"Looks like we're alone," he moved his hand down to her waist.

She smiled and nodded, "looks like we are."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

A wicked smile spread across her face. They smiled at each other and said, "scrabble!"

* * *

Meanwhile back in Hanna's car. Hanna drove around with Caleb in the passenger's seat. She's not really sure where to drop him off at because she never really knew where he lived. They drove around for a bit in awkward silence. Hanna occasionally tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. The radio played quietly in the background. Caleb bit his lip and looked out the side window watching all the street lights reflecting off the car windows. Tonight was a bit strange for the two. Actually, the whole day has. This afternoon, Caleb was acting like his usual jerky self. Tonight, he came in and acted pleasantly towards everyone, even Toby. Makes Hanna wonders what his game is. She looked over at him and noticed him in a bit of a daze. She turned her eyes back on the road and adjusted herself in her seat.

"So," her voice came out a bit high pitched. "Where do you live?"

"Oh, uh, you can just drop me off on the corner of the church."

She thought it was weird, but said okay anyway. They continued on in silence. When Hanna wasn't looking, Caleb would look over in her direction. Actually, it's more like when he thought she wasn't looking. He wondered what she could be thinking this very moment. What does she think any moment when they're together? Did she feel anything on the few dates they've been on? They've kissed, maybe once or twice. It's never been more than a quick peck on the lips. Hanna slowed down in front of the church and stepped on the break making the car jolt to a complete stop. Caleb took off his seatbelt and looked at Hanna.

"Thanks for the ride," he tips his head down. "I'll see you at school on Monday."

He got out and started walking. Hanna felt uneasy about just leaving him out here. She's confused about the way he's been acting around her lately. Hanna shut off her car, took her keys out then, got out of the car.

"Caleb, wait a minute!"

She jogged after him. Caleb stopped when he heard her heels knocking on the sidewalk. He sighed and slowly turned around.

"What's up?"

"What's up?" She crinkled her brow. "I could be asking you the same. Why did you do what you did?"

"What do you mean?"

"What you did tonight," she hugged her red jacket around herself. "With showing up at Spencer's with a cake. How did you know?"

"I-uh, I sort of followed you around town today and saw you buying all those things, so I put two and two together."

"You followed me?" She squinted. "Like...Like you've been stalking me?'

"No," he spoke up quickly. "No, I was just curious to know what you were up to. When I saw that you were helping Spencer with planning Toby's part I just...I don't know really. I wanted to do something to help you."

"So, what you did tonight wasn't for Toby, it was for me?"

"Sort of," he stepped closer. "I know I've been acting like a jerk, Hanna and I don't mean to be. I just. I wasn't sure how to act around you. I like you, Hanna, a lot and now that you're friends with Spencer and her boyfriend, I miss you. Before you sided with them, we used to hang out a lot."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I want you to be my girlfriend and I understand that being your boyfriend means I'll have to get along with your friends and that includes Toby. I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes to be yours, Hanna."

"Caleb," Hanna's face fell. "I like you too, but I don't think you know the first thing about being a boyfriend. It's so much more than just getting along with my friends and family. It's about trust, honesty, loyalty, and if you're willing to commit."

"I am," he stepped up and took both of her hands. "Hanna, I'm ready to do all of that."

"Then you're going to have to prove it," she pulled her hands away from his. "If you really want to be with me, you have to prove that you fully want to commit."

Caleb felt sad by her words, but he understands. He swallowed over the lump in his throat and nodded.

"Okay."

"Okay," Hanna repeated quietly. "I should get home."

"Thank you for the ride."

She sucked on her bottom lip and said, "you're welcome."

Hanna turned around and started heading towards her car. She got her keys out ready to unlock the door.

"Goodnight," Caleb spoke up.

She turned halfway around to look at him.

"Goodnight."

She opened up her car door, got in, and drove off. Caleb stayed back and waited for Hanna to turn onto another street. As soon as her car was out of sight, Caleb turned around and walked towards the school. He snuck in through the door to the school's basement. Nobody really knows this, but, Caleb's been living in the school. He ran away from his foster home and has been living here ever since. He would break into the vending machines whenever he got hungry. He uses the men's restroom to get cleaned up. For the time being, this place is home. The only person who knows about this is Alison. She figured it out one night after she found him scrounging around for leftover food after Friday night's football game. She's been holding this secret over his head for weeks. That's how she gets him to do pretty much anything she wants him to. You can pretty much say that for the time being, Caleb is Alison's puppet.

* * *

"Banana," Spencer smiled after putting down her last word. "Thanks to your word 'boat' I was able to make banana. That's 8 points plus the triple word score earning me 24 points. Adding that to my overall score gives me a total of 106 points."

Toby smiled and rubbed his chin looking over her score. She did end with a pretty good score, but he still has one more turn. If he can come up with a really good word that will earn him a ton of points, he just might beat her again. Yes, Spencer and Toby have played this game many times before. Toby usually beats her at it. It's so funny because, she tries winning with these big words that Toby can barely pronounce. Then, he puts down a simple word and gets more points out of it. He doesn't win every time. Sometimes Spencer would win, but mostly Toby. He studied the board real hard trying to come up with something. Finally, a smile flickered across his face as he began to put down his final word.

"Hugs," he said. "That starts me off with 8 points and the H is on a triple word score earning me 24 points as well. If you add that to my overall score that gets me 112 points."

Toby smiled and Spencer banged her fist on the bed. They're upstairs in her room and this is the second time he's beaten her tonight. They played three games and he's won 2 out of 3. Spencer finally surrendered to defeat and began putting the tiles away with Toby's help. Toby put the board away and handed Spencer the box to put away. She got off her bed and set it on the bottom shelf in her closet.

"You know," she sighed and sat back down on the bed. "I think you cheat at this game."

He chuckled and said, "I do not. You're just a sore loser."

"Am not."

She shoved him softly. He smiled and started to get off the bed. He turned his head back when he felt her hand slip around his wrist.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked pulling him back down beside her.

"It's getting late and I thought I should get home."

"Why?" She asked. "Is your dad there?"

"No."

"Do you want to leave?"

"No, but I just thought you would want some time to yourself after hanging out with your friends all afternoon."

"Don't be silly," she pulled him against the pillows on her bed and leaned back against his chest. "I like having you here. I want you to stay."

He wrapped his arm around her, "I like being here."

He kissed her forehead. She turned around in his arms to kiss his lips. He kissed her back and laces their hands together. They're kissing got heavier and Spencer turned over so she was completely on top of him. Toby framed her waist with his hands and tried to match her mouth movements. When Toby opened his mouth to catch his breath, Spencer took that as her opportunity to slip her tongue in. Toby moaned quietly as her tongue rolled off of his. After a long moment of making out, Spencer tore her lips away from his to catch her breath. Toby was panting pretty hard. Pretty soon, Toby's lips were on her neck. Spencer moaned and cocked her head to the left while he kissed down the right side of her neck. His hands roamed their way down to her lower back and underneath her shirt. Her skin felt soft and smooth on his hands. His hands stopped when he reached the little clasps on her bra. It was he who stopped the kissing this time. He sat up and looked at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing. I just...I wasn't sure how far you were willing to go. I didn't want to keep going without your permission."

"Wow," she sat up and moved to sit beside him. "Most guys would just go for it."

"Well, I'm not like other guys. I respect you."

She smiled softly, "thank you. I didn't mind you having your hands on me, but at the same time I don't want you to think I'm leading you on."

He nodded in understanding and smiled, "that's okay."

"Okay," she replied quietly.

She brushed some hair out of her face and sighed.

"So, do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure. What do you have?"

"Let's see."

Spencer got off the bed and started looking through her collection of movies. Toby set the pillows up behind him so they could sit comfortably. Once he had them all set up right, he leaned back and eyed the two movies Spencer held up.

"I have 'Pirates of The Caribbean' or 'A Nightmare On Elm Street'."

* * *

The next morning, Toby drove home in his new truck. Well, the trucks not new, but it's new to him. He pulled up into his driveway right next to his dad's car. Oh great, he's home. What's he going to say when he sees this truck? Maybe it would've been better if he kept it in Spencer's driveway until he had a better place to park it. His father might do something. Toby shut off the engine and got out of the truck. After yesterday, Toby's been in a good mood all morning. How could he not be? He woke up next to the girl he loves. He walks up his front porch and enters through the door. His father didn't jump out from somewhere to hound him with questions, so he must be good for now. He's probably still passed out from drinking so much, and he was right.

Toby followed the many cans of beer into the kitchen and found his father passed out over the kitchen table. His butt was in a chair and the upper half of his body was lying flat on the table. Lots of slobber dribbled out of his mouth making a small puddle on the table. The sight made Toby cringe. How is he suppose to handle this? Does he wake him up or leave him be? Toby walked by the table accidentally kicking it. That startled his dad. His father jumped out of his chair and yelled. Toby jumped back against the fridge.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Toby held his hands up.

His father groaned, "where the hell have you been all night?"

"Out with friends."

"Friends?" He scuffled and grabbed another beer from the fridge. "You don't have any friends."

"Dad, I think you've had enough to drink."

Toby reached for the can of beer in his father's hands and he smacked his hand away. George pushed Toby's back against the fridge and growled at him. Toby knew it was stupid of him to try to take his beer away, but does his father really have to drink all the time. Any other day, Toby would've taken his father's actions, but not today. Toby shoved his father's hand off his shoulder. George stared at him in disbelief.

"Did you just push me off?"

"I'm not going to let you hurt me anymore, dad. Not today. Not anymore."

George shook his head and chuckled. Hearing his father laugh is almost as scary as hearing him yell. Maybe even scarier. Toby stepped away from the fridge so he wasn't cornered. For a second, Toby thought he finally stood up to his father. That all changed when his fist came flying towards Toby's face and everything after that went black.

* * *

 **Uh-oh, what did Toby's father do? How about that Hanna and Caleb part? Will Caleb ignore Alison's request and be with Hanna for the right reasons, or is keeping his secret more important? Also, you can't have a chapter without some cute Spoby. Thanks for reading. I hope to update soon.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey, guys, thanks for the reviews last chapter. What happened to Toby? Read for yourself.**

* * *

Spencer spent most of the day shopping at the mall with Hanna. They went from store to store coming out with a new bag each time. They hit almost every store in the mall before going home. Spencer went home carrying seven bags full of stuff. That's only half of what Hanna ended up with. That girl loves to shop. Once they finished all of their shopping, the two go in Hanna's car and drove to her house. Hanna's mother was just getting ready to go to work when they arrived.

"Oh, good, Hanna you're home," Ms. Marin said.

"Yeah, Spencer and I just did a little bit of shopping."

Ms. Marin looked at all of the bags and raised an eyebrow, "a little shopping?"

"What?" Hanna said defensively. "They were having a sale at all of my favorite stores."

Ms. Marin rolled her eyes and picked up her purse, "I'm going to work and I'll be gone for awhile. Do you need me to pick anything up while I'm out?"

"No," Hanna shook her head. "I'm good.

"Okay," she smiled at Spencer and said, "hello Spencer."

Spencer smiled back, "hi Ms. Marin."

Ashley Marin grabbed her car keys off the kitchen counter then, walked out. They heard her car start and pull out of the driveway. Hanna sighed and grabbed two sodas out of the fridge handing one of them over to Spencer. They sat down at the kitchen counter. Right now, Hanna has a lot on her mind. She keeps thinking about everything that's going on between her and Caleb. She hasn't agreed to do being his girlfriend yet, but she didn't say no to him either. It's complicated and she doesn't know what to do. Part of her wants to say yes to Caleb's proposal, but something inside her is keeping her from letting him in. She doesn't know if he's trustworthy enough to let him in. It's hard for her to trust anyone. The last guy she was with cheated on her with Alison. Growing up she watched her mom with other men and they all turned out the same. How can she love when she's afraid to?

"I'm hungry," Spencer spoke up. "You want to order a pizza or something?"

"Sure."

Hanna got out her phone and ordered a large supreme pizza with breadsticks. It took no longer than forty minutes it to get here. Spencer paid the delivery boy then brought the pizza in the living room. Hanna changed into sweats then put in a season of Revenge.

"So, what did Toby really think about the party we threw him?" Hanna asked.

Spencer whipped her hands on a napkin.

"He said it was really fun and was happy we threw it for him."

"What happened after we left?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, did things get heated between the two of you?" Hanna asked with a wink.

"Oh, yeah," Spencer smiled. "We played a very intense game of scrabble and it got heated."

"Playing scrabble better be code for something else."

She laughed, "Hanna, why are you so obsessed with my love life?"

"I don't know," she picked at her fingernail. "Maybe because my love life is so confusing right now."

"What do you mean? I thought you and Caleb were a thing."

"I'm trying to figure out where we are. He asked me last night to be his girlfriend, but I just don't know if I can trust him. After what happened with Sean my whole point of view on love has changed. I don't want to risk it."

"I get where you're coming from," Spencer said. "Before Toby I was scared of commitment too. But it's all about gut instinct and go along with what your heart wants. If your heart wants him then give it a shot."

"What if I do go for it and end up getting my heart broken?"

Spencer was about to answer until her phone rang. She answered on the second ring. It turned out to be Emily calling. Hanna sat back and watched Spencer's expression changed from normal to concerned, to horrified in a matter of seconds.

"Oh my god," Spencer hung up her phone and started getting off the couch.

Hanna sat up, "Spence, what's wrong?"

"Hospital," Spencer blurted out. "We need-I need to get there. W-we have to go."

"Why? Spencer, what's going on?"

"It's Toby. He-He's in the hospital."

Hanna wasted no time grabbing her keys off the counter and running out the door. They got in Hanna's car and rushed straight to the hospital. A million thoughts are running through Spencer's head right now. What happened? Why didn't she know about this sooner? How long has he been there? How long did it take someone to find him? So many questions and nobody there to answer. Hanna pulled up in the closest parking spot she could find. When Emily saw them, she stood up and walked over to them. Spencer had a worried expression on her face.

"Em," she panted. "What's going on? What happened? Where is he?"

"He's still getting checked out by the doctor. I'm not sure what happened. Every day I run by his house and when I stopped by today, his front door was wide open. I didn't know why, so I peeked my head in through the front door and called for him. When he didn't answer, I walked around until I found him lying on the floor in his kitchen. He had blood dripping down from his forehead. I got my phone out, called 911 then, I called you as soon as I could."

"Did you just get here?" Hanna asked.

Emily nodded, "just a few minutes before you two showed up. I don't know much because nobody will tell me anything."

"Where was his father?" Spencer asked.

"He wasn't home. I don't know where he was when all of this happened. Surely he would've called 911 if he was there."

Spencer walked up to the front desk where two ladies are sitting. One of them has blonde, shoulder-length hair with blue eyes. The other has short red hair with green eyes. Both women looked to be in their early thirties. Spencer read their name tags. The blonde girl is Tasha and the red head is Ruth.

"I need to know what room Toby Cavanaugh is in," Spencer said in a demanding tone.

"Are you family?" Ruth asked.

"I'm his girlfriend the closest thing he's got to a family right now."

"We don't know anything about your boyfriend right now," Tasha said.

Spencer closed her eyes to keep herself from yelling, "could you at least tell me what room he's in?"

"We can't allow you to see him until the doctor says it's okay," Ruth said.

"Oh my god," Hanna slammed her hands on the desktop making the two lady's jump. "Just let the poor girl see her boyfriend! I don't understand what the big deal is! Either tell my friend what she needs to know or I'm going to have to go all drama bitch on your ass."

"Fine," Ruth sighed. "He's in room 323."

Hanna smiled sweetly and said, "thank you. Come on, Spence."

The three girls took the elevator up to the third floor. Emily checked out all the room numbers on pointed out 323. They walked towards the room only to find the door open and the doctor just getting ready to come out. Spencer sprinted down the hallway to catch the doctor.

"Excuse me," Spencer tugged on the doctor's arm. "Did you just come out of that room? How is he?"

The doctor sighed and removed his cap, "I'm sorry. We did everything that we could."

"No," Spencer gasped.

Emily came up and wrapped her arms around Spencer. Tears started streaming down his face. Hanna stood by placing a comforting hand on Spencer's shoulder.

"I can't believe I lost Toby," Spencer cried.

"Toby?" The doctor looked confused. "No, we lost Tony Carnival."

Spencer wiped her eyes, "what?"

The doctor pointed towards room 323, "the patient in that room is Tony Carnival."

"Then where is Toby Cavanaugh?" Spencer asked feeling slightly irritated.

"I was just about to check on him. He's in the room next door. Room 324."

"324?" Spencer questioned. "But the lady down in the lobby said he's in room 323."

"That bitch gave us the wrong room," Hanna muttered.

Doctor Wilson shrugged, "they must've gotten the names mixed up." He gestured for them to follow. "You can come in if you want."

The girls followed Dr. Wilson into the room. New tears started falling when Spencer saw Toby lying in the hospital bed. He has a bandage on the right corner of his forehead. He doesn't look too bad other than a few scratches here and there.

"How is he?" Spencer asked.

"He's doing okay. The police think that someone broke into his house and knocked him out. The door was kicked open and some money appeared to be missing from a drawer. Also, a stereo and some jewelry," the doctor explained.

"Wait, someone broke into his house?" Hanna questioned. "That means there's a burglar on the loose!"

"What can you saw about Toby?" Spencer asked. "Was he seriously hurt in the attack."

"Nothing too serious. He did substance a pretty hard blow to the head, but not hard enough to cause brain damage. We already tested for that. He has a few other cuts on him, but nothing too serious. He's going to fine. We'll keep him here overnight and see how he is in the morning."

Spencer looked at Toby who hasn't opened his eyes yet, "is he…"

Dr. Wilson nodded, "he's fine. He's just sleeping."

"Thank you, doctor," Emily said.

Dr. Wilson nodded before walking out of the room. Spencer set her purse down on the floor and sat on the chair next to his bed. His breathing is nice and easy, and his heart monitor shows that his heart is steady. Emily and Hanna just stood quietly by the door not knowing what to say. Hanna got tired of standing around and headed for the door.

"Hanna, you're not going to cuss out the desk ladies, are you?" Emily asked.

"No," Hanna said. "I'm going to the gift shop."

Emily made a face, "why?"

"Somebody's got to get Toby a giant balloon for when he wakes up."

Hanna walked out of the room with Emily on her tail. As soon as those two left the room, Spencer felt something touch her arm. She freaked for a second not expecting somebody to touch her. If Emily and Hanna left then, who's touching her arm?

* * *

It's all coming back as a blur. He feels himself starting to come back. It's hard to recover when his head is pounding up a storm. He feels like he got slammed into by a truck. The last thing he can remember before black up his father yelling at him. Toby could hear voices around him speaking. They sound familiar. One of the voices he knows really well. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Spencer's brown curls. Right now, her back is turned to him while she watches two of her friends walk out. Toby puts his hand on her wrist and she slowly turns around. Relief filled her eyes seeing him awake and breathing.

"Toby," she whispered and held his hand tightly.

"Hi," he responded in a low, husky voice.

"How are you feeling?"

"Okay. My head hurts."

She placed her hand over his forehead and gently pressed down on his wound. She ran her fingers through his hair and pushed it out of the way.

"I was worried when Emily called me. All I heard was you. Hospital. Get down here. Hanna got me here as fast as she could."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"Do you remember anything from before?"

He sighed, "I remember coming home from your house and walking into the kitchen. Something hard hit me over the head and after that, I was out. The next thing I know, I'm waking up with the most beautiful girl by my side."

Spencer tried to not to smile, "now is not the time for flirting."

"Sorry," he apologized but didn't mean it.

Spencer cracked a little smile and squeezed his hand. Even when he's lying in a hospital bed after an accident, he's still charming. She leaned in and kissed his forehead. A moment later the door opened and, Hanna and Emily came in. Hanna was carrying a gigantic yellow balloon with a smiley face on it. Emily had a little teddy, bear. Toby sat up against the pillows with help from Spencer and smiled.

"You're up!" Hanna exclaimed.

"I am."

"Good. I'm so glad."

"I was worried when I found you at your house," Emily said. "The police said someone broke in."

Toby nodded, "that's probably what happened."

Spencer leaned forward in her chair, "is there anything I can get you?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm fine."

"I would like to stay, but I have work tonight," Emily said.

"Okay, bye Emily."

Emily waved to all of them then left. Now it's just Spencer and Hanna with Toby. Spencer's not sure how long Hanna will want to be here. She's the one who got Spencer here and if she leaves, Spencer won't have a way of getting home.

"How long did you plan on staying, Hanna?" Spencer asked.

She shrugged and said, "I don't know."

"Okay, well, if you want you can go. You don't have to stay."

"How are you getting home?"

"I'm not," Spencer said. "I'm going to stay here with Toby."

"Spencer, they're not going to let you stay."

"Well, unless they want to try to remove a kicking seventeen-year-old girl, I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay," Hanna said. "Call me if you need anything."

"Ok."

Hanna gave Toby a side hug before leaving. Now, it's just Spencer and Toby. They didn't say much to each either. Neither one of them didn't really know what to say. A nurse came in a little while ago to change the bandage on Toby's head. According to her, it looks better than it did before. That nurse left leaving them alone again.

"I wonder if this hospital has good coffee," Spencer said mostly to herself.

"You could always check."

"I don't want to leave you here alone," she admitted.

Toby smiled and touched her hand, "go on and find yourself some coffee. I'll be fine being alone for a few minutes."

"Fine," she leaned in to kiss him. "I'll be back."

* * *

Not soon after Spencer left, Toby shut his eyes real quick to catch a little nap. There's something about being in a hospital that makes him extra tired. He's not sure how much time passed from when he closed his eyes, but when he reopened them, he caught a figure standing at the foot of his bed. He panicked a little when he saw his father. Goerge stood at the foot of his bed with a scary grin on his face. Toby tried his best to act tough, but really he's scared.

"Dad," he stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

Goerge stepped up, "well, I heard that my son got attacked by a robber and had to make sure he was okay."

"We both know that's not what really happened."

"Oh, we know, but your little girlfriend and everyone else doesn't. The police believe you were attacked be a random stranger and they're going to continue thinking that."

"I'm tired of the way you've been treating me, dad," Toby hissed. "I'm not putting up with it anymore. It's time people knew what kind of monster you really are."

"Oh, Toby," Goerge chuckled darkly. "And I thought you cared about Spencer."

Toby's protective instincts kicked in, "you stay away from her!"

"I won't as long as you keep your mouth shut. If you tell anybody what really happened to you, I'll kill your little girlfriend. And this Isn't a threat either, it's a promise."

* * *

 **Oh, no, What's Toby going to do? Will he tell the police the truth of what really happened to him or is he not willing to risk Spencer's life? What would happen if Spencer finds out? So many questions and so many answers to come. Thanks for reading. Please review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Toby's Homecoming! Enjoy.**

* * *

As soon as Toby was released from the hospital, Spencer gave Toby a ride home to his place. Something didn't feel right about leaving him her all alone. While Spencer was with Toby at the hospital, the other girls are over at Toby's house cleaning up the place. Aria, Emily, and Hanna are there cleaning up. Emily just finished changing the sheets on Toby's bed and came downstairs to see Aria and Hanna sitting on the couch giggling over something.

"I finally finished cleaning up Toby's room."

Emily sighed and threw the two bags she was holding by the stairs. One bag is filled with dirty laundry and the other is filled with trash from upstairs. Emily saw Aria and Hanna doing nothing but looking at some book they've found. Emily wiped her hair back behind her shoulders and folded her arms over her chest.

"Are you two working hard?"

"Yeah, really hard," Hanna laughed.

She never took her eyes off the page she was looking at. Aria also seemed to be more focused on the book than doing any cleaning. Emily walked over and snatched the book right out of Aria's hands.

"Hey!" Hanna shouted.

"Hey!?" Emily said defensively. "What the hell are you two doing!? You guys are supposed to be helping."

"We cleaned a little then Hanna found an old photo album in that desk over there," Aria explained.

Emily scanned the cover, "you guys, it's not right to look through this without permission from Toby."

"But there's pictures of Toby as a baby in there!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Come on, Emily," Aria gave her puppy dog eyes.

Emily looked down at the book. She stared at the brown leather cover for a long time. Finally, she looked back up at her friends and smiled.

"Five minutes then we're putting it back where you found it."

Emily plopped down in the middle of the couch. The girls laughed at all the cute pictures of Toby as a kid. Ten minutes later, the front door opened and Spencer and Toby walked in. They caught Aria, Hanna, and Emily laughing their heads off at something. Spencer lead Toby into his living room and stared wide eyed at her friends who are supposed to be cleaning.

"Um," Spencer started.

The three girls jumped at the sound of her voice. Emily handed the book to Aria who then tossed it to Hanna. Spencer put her hands on her hips and stared down her friends.

"What the hell is going on here?" She asked.

Hanna smiled back shyly, "um we we're taking a break."

"We did clean up most of the house," Emily stood up.

"You guys cleaned the house up for me?" Toby smiled.

"Of course," Aria said.

"We wanted to do something nice for you since you were coming home from the hospital," Emily smiled.

"That's very nice of you guys. Thank you."

"Spencer made us," Hanna mumbled. "Ouch!"

Aria kicked Hanna in the heel. Emily just rolled her eyes. The place does look a lot nicer than before. Although, Toby's not too sure how his father will react to seeing the place looking like this.

"What were you guys looking at anyway?" Spencer asked.

Hanna held up the book, "this old photo album."

Toby tensed up a little. They found a photo album. Toby's father burned most of the pictures of Toby when he was younger. That book that Hanna is holding is the only photo book Toby managed to hid from his father.

"You found a photo album," Spencer said.

The girls nodded. Spencer raised her left eyebrow before joining the girls on the couch. Hanna gave her the photo album and allowed her to look through it. Toby leaned against the wall and watched Spencer's tight lips curl up into a smile. Pretty soon she was laughing.

"Toby," Spencer giggled.

Toby bit his lip to keep a smile from spreading across his face. He knows exactly what photo she found. Spencer turned the book around to show him the picture she was laughing at. It's a picture of Toby when he was one-year-old. He's standing butt naked in the kitchen with a pot on his head like he's wearing a helmet. His butt is facing the camera and he looks like he's reaching up for his sippy cup on the kitchen counter. Toby's cheeks turned red.

"Can you explain what is going on in this picture?" Spencer asked laughing.

Toby blushed a deep shade of red. He never thought anyone would ever see that picture. Now, he's wishing he let his father burn that picture. But when he saw the way Spencer's brown eyes light up while she was laughing, he felt a better about it. He walked over and sat on the chair closest to where Spencer's sitting.

"It was just after my bath. My mother forgot to grab me a towel so she left the bathroom real quick to get me one. The door was left open so I walked out into the kitchen. The covert where we keep all of our pots and pans was left open so I started digging through them. I put a pot on my head for a reason I don't even know. My mother must've taken this without me knowing."

Spencer grinned, "well, from what I can see, you had a very cute baby butt."

"He probably still has a cute butt," Hanna said. "Ouch!"

Again, Aria kicked Hanna's foot.

"Okay, we're going to go," Aria said. "Toby we're glad that you're okay."

"I sure hope the police can catch the guy who did this," Emily said.

"Yeah," Hanna agreed. "Before he breaks into one of our houses next."

"Get some sleep," Emily said while giving Toby a friendly hug.

"I will," he said. "Thanks for all you've done."

The three girls waved goodbye then walked out the door. As soon as they were gone, Toby moved over to sit by Spencer on the couch.

"So, you can take off if you want," he said.

"Oh, no, I'm staying here with you."

"Spencer," he started but she interrupted.

"No, I am staying here with you all day and I'm spending the night too. Now, don't argue with me."

He didn't know if her staying was such a good idea. If she stays, she may figure out what his father has been doing to him. If she finds out, his father will hurt her. The man threatened to kill Spencer if Toby told the cops what really happened. He doesn't want to risk her life. Toby can handle a few beating from his father. It's a lot better than having George kill Spencer. He's not going to let that happen. Then again, his father shouldn't be home tonight. Spencer staying tonight wouldn't hurt. Actually, he would like her company. This way he'll know she stays safe.

Toby smiled and said, "yes, ma'am."

"Good," she patted his knee then stood up. "Do you want something for lunch? I could make you a grilled cheese sandwich."

"mmm, that sounds good. Thank you."

Spencer walked into the kitchen and started making him lunch. While she was doing that, Toby looked through his photo album. It's been awhile since he's looked at these pictures. Mostly because he was afraid of his father finding out he still has them. He's kept them hidden in the bottom drawer of his mother's desk. Surprisingly his father hasn't found them yet. Goerge never goes near his mother's desk. He's talked about getting rid of it or just burning it, but he never did. Guess even a small part of him can't seem to let go of all of Marion.

They spent pretty much the whole day together in Toby's house. After she made him lunch, they watched a couple movies. Most of the time was spent making out. After watching movies for a while, Toby gave Spencer some time to study for her physics test. While she did that, he studied for his vocab quiz in French. He was halfway through his list when he heard Spencer throw her pencil across the room.

"Hey, take it easy," he teased. "I have breakable stuff in my room."

"I'm sorry," she sighed and ran her hands down her face. "I don't understand this chapter."

He chuckled, "what are you having trouble with?"

"This chapter on Energy. It should be something easy for me, but I just can't seem to get it."

Toby stood up and sat next to her on his bed.

"Well, you know that there are different kinds of energy. Energy is all over the place. It's what keeps us moving. There's energy in the sun and light. Energy is everywhere.

"I know, but for this question I'm supposed to explain how kinetic energy affects humans. Give an example."

"That should be easy. Kinetic energy is what makes us move. Because of it we can do anything like kick a soccer ball or go for a mile long run. Or even kiss."

"Kiss?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Kinetic energy is the reason humans have the energy to make out. Humans already have kinetic energy in them."

"So, that's what I should put down as my answer? Kinetic energy is the reason humans have the energy to do stuff like makeout?"

Toby smiled and said, "sounds like a pretty good answer to me. If I didn't have any energy in me, would I be able to do this."

He framed her face with his hands and kissed her lips. He started out by moving his lips against hers in a soft graze. Spencer grabbed a hold of his face and kissed him harder. When they pulled away from the kiss, both of them were breathing pretty hard. A wide smile spread across Spencer's face.

"Wow, that's the best physics lesson I've ever had." She put her arms around him and leaned back in. "Maybe you should give me more examples on energy."

He smiled and pulled away, "sure. After you finish your homework."

Spencer pouted when Toby got up to walk back over to his desk. Even though she was disappointed, she got back to work anyway. When she finally finished her homework, Toby orders a pizza for them to share. They spent another couple hours in his room watching movies. The sun started to set at the start of the first movie and became completely dark by the time the movie was over. Toby sat back on his bed with Spencer right next to him leaning her head on his shoulder. She also has the photo album in her hands. She's looking through it since she didn't look at all the pictures early. Every time she comes across that one picture of him standing butt naked in his kitchen, she starts cracking up. Toby would smile and try to hide his embarrassment.

"I don't know why you've been keeping this from me," she mumbled. "You were a very cute kid."

"Thanks. Maybe now you'll let me see some of your baby pictures."

"Ha," she faked a laugh and smiled. "Keep dreaming."

He smiled and rolled off the bed to get some things out of his dresser drawer. Since Spencer is staying the night, he's guessing she didn't bring anything to change into. It would not be comfortable for her to sleep in her blazer and jeans. He walks back over to the side of the bed and holds up a pair of a plaid blue pajama pants and a long sleeve blue shirt.

"Do you want to wear the top or the bottom?" He asked with a straight face.

Toby eyed him and the two pieces of clothing he's holding. He looked serious, but he's not. Clearly she's going to wear his shirt. Guess he's just trying to get another laugh out of her.

"I'm just kidding," he smiled.

He tossed her his shirt.

"Actually, I would like the bottom."

He looked at her and she stared back with a straight face. Pretty soon her lips were curling up into a smile much like the one he used just now.

"I'm just kidding," she mocked his tone.

Toby smiled and took the pants with him into the bathroom. It took him a few minutes to change and brush his teeth. When he came out he found Spencer standing in his room wearing his blue shirt. How is it that she looks better in that shirt than he's ever looked in it? Spencer smirked when she caught him staring at her legs.

"How do I look?"

"Uh, fine. Fine," he stuttered.

She smiled, "just so you know, you're never getting this shirt back.

That was his favorite shirt, but she looks way better in it. Guess he's going to have to be okay with her having it. He can't argue. Not with how good she looks wearing his shirt. He could get used to seeing her wearing his shirts more in the future. Spencer sat down on his bed and tucked one of her legs under the other. She opened up the photo album and flipped to the page she left off on. There're only two pages left to go through.

"Do you have anymore photo albums?" She asked.

"Uh, no. That's the only one."

She looked up, "you don't have many baby pictures. Most of these you're a preteen."

"Yeah, I know. After my mom died there's hasn't been anyone around to take pictures. My fathers just not into anything anymore."

"That's so sad," she shook her head. "I don't see any pictures of your mother in here."

"My mom didn't like getting her picture taken."

"Do you have any."

"No," he shook his head until he remembered something. "Actually, I do have one picture of her."

He walks over to his closet and started searching for something. It took him a minute to find an old shoe box he has hidden underneath all the crap he has. He picks up the box and opens it. Once again, he had to dig through all this crap. He finally found what he was looking for. It's an old locket his mother used to wear around her neck. She would never take it off. His father tried to burn it, but somehow the metal didn't burn. It survived the fire. He opened up the locket and inside is a small picture of him with his mother at the pumpkin patch. There used to be a much larger picture of them, but his father burned that picture too. Toby walked over and sat beside Spencer on the bed.

"This is the only picture I have with my mother," he showed her.

"Wow," she looked at it. "Your mother was beautiful."

"I know. I was six when this was taken."

"Who took it?"

"My grandmother. She died a year after this."

"So, is your father the only family you have left?" She asked.

He nodded. Spencer inspected the picture closely. It occurred to Toby that he may have all these pictures now, but what's going to happen if his father finds them in that desk? One of these days his father is finally going to look through that desk or just get rid of it. Then he won't have any memories of his childhood at all. Just the ones in black and white or in his case, black and blue.

"Spencer, could you do me a favor?"

"Anything," she said softly.

"Would you take this photo album and my mother's locket. I want you to keep them at home with you."

"Ar...Are you sure?"

He nodded, "the thing is, my father doesn't like having any memory of my mother around. After she died, he took it pretty hard. He doesn't know that I have these and I think I've found a way of keeping them safe. It's by keeping them with you."

She smiled, "I'm honored that you trust me enough to keep them."

He smiled back and said, "I do."

"Okay, I'll keep these with me."

"Thank you," he leaned their foreheads together. "I love you."

"I know," she touched his face. "I love you too."

He kisses her softly, "you ready for bed?"

She nods. He tugs her down with him and he falls back on the bed. Spencer lays down so half of her body is curled up against his frame. Toby wraps his left arm around her waist and holds her hand with his right hand. He kissed her goodnight before she finally fell asleep. He wanted to stay up a little longer to watch her. She looks so small when she sleeps and adorable. Watching her makes things even harder. With his father around and knowing what he's capable of. He's really beginning to worry about Spencer's safety. What if his father just kills Spencer in order to get her out of the way. Toby was just in the hospital after one of his dad's attacks. There's no way that Spencer won't figure out what's happening soon. Spencer will find out and she will tell somebody. If she does that, Toby's father will kill Spencer. That's something Toby has to worry about. Was his fathers words really just a threat or a promise?

* * *

 **You guys try to decide. Are Georges words just a threat or a promise? Will George really go that far to hurt Spencer? At this point, Toby is keeping his mouth shut. Things could get more difficult if Spencer would happen to find out.**

 **Reviews for this story are low, but they're doing better than they were. Please keep reviewing so I know who's reading. Thank you and good day (or night).**


	23. Chapter 23

**You guys are going to like this chapter. It's all Spoby and there's a cute flashback towards the end. Enjoy. R &R.**

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A tan trucks pulls into the Hastings driveway. The breaks made a squeaking noise when he pressed down on the breaks. Before getting out, Toby looked at himself in the mirror and adjusted his tie. He then steps out of his truck and walks up her front porch. Inside the Hastings house, Spencer is up in her room still getting ready. She's currently wearing a navy blue dress with a black belt. She has on flats, hoop earrings, and a gray jacket to go with her outfit. For her makeup, she added a light amount of blue eyeshadow and mascara. She finished off her makeup by applying a very light shade of pink lipstick. Over in her jewelry box, she picked out a silver ring with a topaz in the middle. She slid that on her finger and admired it. Tonight is going to be perfect. The doorbell rang and Spencer smiled.

Toby stood patiently waiting for Spencer to open the door. He knows that her parents won't be home until later tonight, so they most likely won't be answering. At least he won't have any awkward encounters with her father. The door finally flung open and standing behind it was the beautiful girl he couldn't stop thinking about. She stood before him wearing her navy blue dress and smiled. Just like her, he is also dressed up. He's wearing an aqua colored shirt with a dark gray tie and light gray dress pants. He doesn't have a nice jacket to go with his clothing, but that's okay. You can see his muscles through his shirt. Spencer bit her lip and smiled.

"Wow," he stood with his hands behind his back. "You look amazing."

"Thank you," she said in a high pitch voice. She didn't mean to sound like that, but sometimes she gets that way when he's around her.

"You clean up pretty nice," she said.

"Well, I like to look my best for my girl. Plus, tonight is a special occasion, so."

Toby moved his hand out from behind him and held up a single red rose. Spencer gasped and held a hand over her mouth. She wasn't expecting him to buy her a flower. He really is the sweetest guy ever. She reached out and took the rose from him. Slowly bringing it up to the rim of her nose and took a nice whiff. The sweet scent made her smile.

"It's beautiful," she pecked him on the lips and said, "thank you. Just give me a minute to find a vase."

After leaving the rose to sit in a vase full of water, Toby lead the way to his truck and drove them to wherever he's planning their date. Spencer hast no clue what he's planning. A few days ago, Toby came to her and asked if she was doing anything important this Friday night. When she said no, he asked her out on a date. She accepted and now here they are in his truck heading to their date. They drive further away from town and Spencer wondered where they're going. They passed all the restraints and movie theaters. Where on earth is he taking her? Finally he pulls up to the edge of a hillside. He gets out of the car and opens up her door. She takes his hand and steps down.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"Lookout Point," he answered. "It's a hilltop looking over the town of Rosewood. It's very pretty up here."

They walk a few feet up the hill until they come across a clear opening. From up here, you can see all the town lights. But the sight of all the town lights Isn't what surprised Spencer. It was the candlelight dinner set up on a tablecloth covered table. For the second time that night, Spencer cupped her hand over her mouth and smiled so wide her cheeks started hurting. Some of the bushes around the area have little white lights wrapped around them. The whole setting nearly made Spencer cry tears of joy. She turned to look at Toby who seemed nervous. He wasn't sure if she would like it.

"Toby, you did all of this." He nodded. "It's beautiful. I've never seen something more beautiful."

"I have," he said and she looked at him.

"When you asked to take me out I never thought you would really take me out here. It's beautiful up here."

Now, they're walking towards the table with their hands intertwined. Toby released her hand so he could pull out her chair. She sat down and he pushed her in. Soon, he was sitting on the other side of the candlelight from her. Besides the candles, there's a tin foil container with aluminum foil covering it. Toby removes it and the aroma of fresh baked ravioli fills her nostrils. He also has a hand tossed salad and bread sticks in another container. Everything smells delightful. He dished out the food and set a plate in front of her. Spencer picked up her fork, took one bit of the ravioli, and felt like she just been sucked up into heaven.

"I want to say that this dinner is amazing, but I think that's an understatement for this occasion."

"You really like it?"

She smiled and took another bite of her food.

"You're not going to believe me, but I actually made the ravioli."

"Shut up," her mouth gaped.

"It's true."

She reached across the table for his hand and said, "marry me."

He laughed, "this was my mother's recipe. She sort of taught me how to cook. She would always tell me that if I ever wanted to impress a woman, try cooking dinner for her."

"Well, it's working, because I'm impressed. Not that I wasn't impressed with you beforehand, but let's be honest. If a guy can cook, he's a real keeper," she winked.

"That's what my mother would say."

Spencer smiled, "you're mother was a very smart woman."

"Yes," he nodded in agreement. "She was."

"What was your mother like?" She asked out of curiosity. "You never talk about her."

"Well, you know she was a very selfless person. She did a lot of things for other people. Most of her days were spent donating her time to charity organizations. She managed to raise $5,000 for the school's art program. She loved playing the piano and she loved listening to classical music."

"Your mother sounds amazing."

"That she was. I remember one time when I was sick, she stayed home from work. Let me be clear by saying my mother hates missing a day of work. She tries to be there every single day, but when she saw how sick I was, she decided to stay home. When I asked her why she stayed home when she loves being at work. She told me she does love being at work but she loves me more."

"Aw," Spencer smiled. "That's such a sweet story."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make this evening all about my deceased mother."

"No," Spencer wiggled around her chair. "I love listening to your stories. I want to hear more about her. What's the funniest memory you had with her? What was her favorite color? What's her backstory?"

"Why do you want to know so much?"

"Because," she smiled. "If I know more about your mother it helps me to learn more about you. Since you told me you're a lot like her."

He smiled and she smiled back. For most of the evening, Toby shared stories about his mom. He told her about the time she got into an argument with this other kids mother. This kid an Toby's 3rd grade class wouldn't leave him alone. When Miss. Cavanaugh learned about this class bully, she drove down to the school and demanded to speak with both the bully and his parents. Thanks to Toby's mother, that kid got kicked out of school. That family moved out of Rosewood and was never heard from again. Toby also brought up when his mom let Spencer crash at their house for the night. Marion Cavanaugh was truly and amazing woman.

"What about your parents?" He asked.

Toby just presented Spencer with a lovely dessert. He made his favorite peach pie. His mom used to make it every other Sunday. When Toby asked Spencer about her parents, she suddenly went quiet.

"There's nothing really to know about my parents. They're both lawyers, they have very stricken rules and high standards, and my sister is their favorite child."

"You don't like talking about your parents," he said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay. You were just curious like I was about your mom."

As the night quickly came to an end. Much quicker than either of them would've hoped. They started packing up everything to head home. Spencer doesn't really want this night to end and neither does Toby. Tonight, Toby has to return home to his house where his father will be waiting. Yes, his dad will be home tonight. He's probably going to be mad that Toby's been gone most of the day. They walked back to the truck and drove back to town. The is playing on a low volume. While Spencer was looking out the window, Toby turned his head towards her. She really is a beauty. How did he get so lucky? He can still remember being that young boy crushing on her from a distance. He never imagined she would be his girl.

* * *

I _t's Sophomore year of high school for Toby and he's a little nervous. Last school year wasn't too great. A lot of the older kids picked on him. It was like middle school 2.0. No matter what grade he's in, he can never seem to escape all the bullies. This year a new group of students are entering high school. Some of the boys are excited because they heard that the popular five girls are coming her. Everybody in Rosewood knows about this group of five beautiful girls that stick together. Last year as eighth graders, they ruled the middle school. Now, they're coming in as Freshmen and their leader is ready to take charge of the high school._

 _Toby is a little afraid of what will happen when those five girls come to this school. In seventh grade, these four girls would mess with him. From what Toby's heard, they're the same five girls who used to pick on him in middle school. Just last year they added a new addition to their group. He hasn't seen the new girl yet, but he's worried that she will be just as mean. Maybe even worse._

 _The front doors of the school swung open and everybody turned their heads. Toby stopped what he was doing and paused to take a look. Just as expected, five teenage girls came floating down the hallway like it was a fashion show. Toby knows the names of four of the girls. The blonde one in the middle, with the crystal blue eyes, that's Alison. Also known as the leader of the girls. The one standing to her right is Emily Fields. She's about an inch taller than Alison. Emily is known as the athletic one. She joined the swim team when she was in the seventh grade. Walking beside Emily, is a tiny girl with brown hair. That's Aria Montgomery. She's known as the artsy one. Then, back over on Alison's left is another brunette Toby's seen around town before. Toby couldn't believe his eyes. It's the town's good girl, Spencer Hastings. Toby's seen her at town events with her parents. What is a good girl like that doing hanging out with Alison's crowd? Finally, standing alongside Spencer, is the bubbly blonde, Hanna Marin. That makes up the five group._

 _"Are you going to move or what?"_

 _A voice snapped at him. Toby hadn't even noticed he was standing in the way. When he looked up, Alison was there glaring at him. He's gotten that glare so many times in seventh grade._

 _"Sorry," he mumbled and stepped to the side._

 _"Ugh, it's so sad knowing I have to breath the same air as this freak," Alison rolled her eyes._

 _Everyone laughed including some other people watching the scene play out. Everybody was laughing, except one. Spencer. She wasn't laughing. In fact, she looked unamused about what Alison said. That's when Toby came to the conclusion that maybe she is different. Maybe she's not like the other girls._

 _Later that week, Toby was sitting alone at his lunch table reading a book. He had his lunch tray in front of him with a hamburger on a paper plate. He was in the middle of a chapter when somebody pulled out a chair across from him. Glancing up, he saw Spencer Hastings slamming her lunch tray down and groan as she sat down. She angrily opened up her salad container and started stabbing her lettuce with her fork. The little vein on her forehead showed and he tried not to smile. It's not funny that she's ticked off right now, but the way she looks when she's angry is kind of cute. Her face is a tent shade of red. Her shoulders are all tensed up and that little groaning sound she made out of anger when she sat down was probably one of the cutest sounds he's ever heard. Strangely, he didn't feel frightened seeing her this worked up. If anything, he found it kind of amusing. He's never seen the good girl be angry._

 _"What are you smiling at?"_

 _She snapped and it caught him by surprise. When he processed that she spoke to him, Toby quickly looked back down at his book._

 _"Uh, nothing. Just my book."_

 _"Oh, so you're book just happened to make you smile right when I sat down looking mad?"_

 _He didn't know how to respond to that. Now, he regrets smiling, but how could he not? He's never seen Spencer Hastings act out before. While before he was afraid of having one of the five girls lash out at him. Now that Spencer is, it's just amusing. He should be afraid. Especially with the way her brown eyes are burning daggers into his skull. Her beautiful, lovely, brown eyes. God, her eyes are gorgeous. Why isn't he afraid of her? If anything, he feels like he's being drawn in. She opened her mouth to say something else snappy, but she got a look at the title of his book._

 _"You're reading 'To Kill A Mockingbird'."_

 _"Uh, yeah, you know the book?" He asked hesitantly._

 _She nodded her head slowly, "it's one of my favorites."_

 _"Wow, this Isn't even a book we read until Junior year."_

 _"So?" She asked._

 _"I don't know," he shrugged. "You're freshmen and I didn't think you've read the book."_

 _"Well, you're only in the tenth grade, so you too are reading the book early."_

 _"Actually, I am reading it for English. I'm taking 11th year English that way I'll be taking AP by the time I'm a senior," he explained._

 _"So, you're a smart boy."_

 _"Oh, well, I wouldn't go that far."_

 _"Look," she sighed now that she's calmed down some. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was just upset. My anger wasn't at all directed towards you. More towards Alison actually."_

 _"That's okay. I know you didn't mean it."_

 _At that moment, Spencer did something no one has ever done before. She smiled at him. He swore her eyes lit up the second she did. Her smile lasted a second before she went back to poking at her salad. The rest of lunch time was silent, but Toby couldn't seem to get her smile out of his head. For the rest of the day, he couldn't stop thinking about her. What is it about Spencer Hastings that's got his head in the clouds? And how on earth does he come down from it._

* * *

The tan truck came to a complete stop in the Hastings driveway. Toby put the vehicle in park and got out to walk Spencer up to her door. The front porch light is on and her parent's cars are parked out front. They must be home. It's a little after 10:30, so Spencer's not late. They walked up her drive and stopped outside the side door.

"Well," she started. "I think tonight is definitely being added to my list of best nights ever."

He wiggled his brow, "the nights not completely over yet."

She smiled and he stepped forward capturing her lips in a warm, passionate kiss. Her arms slid up around his shoulders and his arms wrapped around her frame. His mouth opened up to her so she took that as her opportunity to slip her tongue in. Toby's hands moved down her body and landed themselves on her hips. Something about this kiss feels different. It's much deeper than the ones they've shared before. Spencer tilted her head some to the right and framed his face. He moaned and bit down on her bottom lip softly. This erupted a moan coming from her end. Just when he was feeling brave enough to move his hands to her butt, they heard the lock from the door unlatch, and the door flew open. Both of them jumped in surprise.

"Spencer Jill Hastings," said a cold, stern voice.

* * *

 **Oops, who do you think busted Spencer and Toby? What's even more awkward than having someone catch your boyfriend dropping you off? Being caught lip-locking with your boyfriend when they're dropping you off. Keep reviewing for more updates!**


	24. Chapter 24

**I apologize that this chapter is so short, but hey, at least it's a chapter, right? Ready to see who caught Spencer and Toby in the act? Read on and don't forget to review.**

* * *

She smiled and he stepped forward capturing her lips in a warm, passionate kiss. Her arms slid up around his shoulders and his arms wrapped around her frame. His mouth opened up to her so she took that as her opportunity to slip her tongue in. Toby's hands moved down her body and landed themselves on her hips. Something about this kiss feels different. It's much deeper than the ones they've shared before. Spencer tilted her head some to the right and framed his face. He moaned and bit down on her bottom lip softly. This erupted a moan coming from her end. Just when he was feeling brave enough to move his hands to her butt, they heard the lock from the door unlatch, and the door flew open. Both of them jumped in surprise.

"Spencer Jill Hastings," said a cold, stern voice.

The couple stood frozen in their place staring at the young women glaring back at them. Toby's hands are still on her waist and her arms are holding on to his shoulders. They haven't put much distance between them yet, which makes this situation even more awkward. The women unfolded her arms and put her hands on her waist. Spencer figured someone would walk out on them, but she wasn't expecting it to be her sister. The last she heard, Melissa was staying in Philly. What is she doing back?

When the thought finally registered, Toby moved his hands from Spencer's sides and took a step back. Spencer did the same. Cheeks suddenly feeling hot and palms are getting sweaty. Right now, they feel like two kids who just got busted after breaking something.

"Me-Melissa," Spencer stuttered. "You're ah...You're home. What are you…"

"I told mom I wanted to come home for the weekend." Melissa points at the boy who just had his tongue down his sister's throat. "Who is this?"

"This is Toby."

"Mom and dad are asleep, so you better get inside before they wake up and realize what's going on."

"Melissa I…"

"Get inside now, Spencer!" Melissa shouted.

Spencer looks at Toby apologetically, "thanks for tonight. It was a lot of fun."

"I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" He said.

"Okay," she whispered. "Bye."

Toby let go of her wrist and watched Spencer disappear inside. Melissa gave him a hard stare before shutting the door in his face. When Spencer heard the door shut behind them, she anticipated what Melissa has to say. She expected her to yell, judge her, and threaten to tell mom and dad. That's the way Melissa works. She looks for things in Spencer's life to share with their parents that will make her look bad. Melissa has always been the devil in Spencer's life.

"How long has this thing between you and that guy been going on?" Melissa asked.

She turned around, "for awhile. I started tutoring him a long time ago and we became close friends."

"Are you sleeping with him?"

"No. He's…"

"Well, the way he was holding you and the way you were kissing him, I think you can see why I'm asking that question. I caught you with him in the middle of a tongue battle. That image of that will forever be stuck inside my head. You have no idea what I was thinking when I saw my baby sister being tongued by the town's freak."

"Don't," Spencer spoke up. Melissa looked back at her wide-eyed. "Don't call him that and do not call me your baby sister. Me being your sister has never sparked your interest before. Toby's a good guy and he treats me very, very well. I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend."

"Boyfriend," Melissa sounded shocked. "You two are dating."

"Yes," Spencer said as if it was obvious. "What? Did you think all we are, are bed buddies? We've never slept together. Not yet anyway and probably won't for awhile. Toby and I are in a tight relationship and things are going good."

"Tight one, huh? That means you two have each other's backs. You're there for each other when one needs you."

"Yes."

"Really?" She raised a brow. "You two are completely honest with each other? There are no secrets between the two of you."

"I trust Toby."

"You trust him, but does Toby trust you?"

"Yeah," Spencer said without hesitation. "Of course, he trusts me. He has no reason not to and he knows that. He knows that he can trust me with anything."

"Then what is that boy hiding?"

"He's not hiding anything."

Melissa raised a brow and said, "are you sure? Toby jumped when I opened the door just now. I could see fear in his eyes when he looked at me."

"You startled both of us, Melissa."

"Are you seriously telling me that you don't see it? Has he ever acted strange or overrated over the littlest things?" Spencer didn't say anything. "What about his latest accident. Why was he sent to the hospital again?"

"Someone broke in and attacked him."

"Is that the truth or is that the story Toby told you?"

"What are you getting at, Mel?"

"I'm saying, something doesn't add up. You need to find out what is going on with him. You care about him, don't you?"

"Yes, of course, I do."

"Something's going on with him, Spencer. I know deep down you notice it to. You're just afraid to push him on the matter."

"Alright, I'll admit. I thought it was kind of strange when Toby's father just happened to be out of the house when the attack happened. Almost like he knew it was going to happen."

"Have you ever had questions about his father?"

Spencer shrugged, "I know they don't get along. That's all Toby's told me."

"There's something else going on. I think only you can get Toby to say what it is."

"Yeah, well, it's late."

She turned to head up the stairs when Melissa stopped her, "Spencer."

She turned back around, "What?"

"I uh...I won't tell mom and dad what I saw. With everything going on, I'll cut you some slack."

"Thanks."

"But just this once," her voice was stern again.

"Alright."

"Spencer."

"Yes?"

"You really like him don't you?"

"No," Spencer smiled. "I really love him."

* * *

The streetlights in Rosewood aluminate the empty streets. Most of the lights in the houses are off and the world seems quiet. Toby pulls into his parking spot in his driveway removing the keys. He sighs and presses his palms against the well for a minute or two. His father is home. All the lights in the house are off except for the yellow lamp sitting next to the television. He can see the color's from the television flashing between the gap in the curtains. Sighing again, Toby opens up his car door quietly shutting it after he steps out. If he's lucky, maybe his dad is sleeping and won't even notice him walking in.

He passes through the front entrance and tries to be very quiet moving towards the stairs. Right when he set foot on the first step, he heard his father groaning from the other room. He knows Toby is home. _Just my luck_ Toby thought. George sat up on the couch and his back cracked when he did so.

"Where have you been?" George asked.

"I was out."

George gave him a knowing look, "were you with her?"

Toby knew exactly who he's referring to. God, if he didn't make that stupid threat to hurt Spencer, Toby would be running to the police right now. If only there was a way to take care of that without his father knowing. He knows better though. George can always tell when Toby's about to do something before he does. Toby doesn't know how he figures this stuff out, but he does.

"You know, I don't like you hanging out with her."

"Well, you don't seem to like a lot of things I do, so it's hard to please you. It's a good thing I'm not with her to please you."

"Don't get sassy with me, boy," George said stumbling to his feet. "If I don't like you around her, I damn right have a right to say so. I've told you. How many more times do I have to tell you?"

"I know you told me, dad," Toby walked into the room. "And I heard you loud and clear. Every Time you've said it. Who I'm with is not up to you. It's up to me."

"Oh," George faked a chuckle. "I see you're feeling brave today. That Spencer girl has toughened you up some. Something I've been trying to do since you were a kid. It may work around her and at school, but not here, boy. I ain't afraid of you."

"I'm not afraid of you either," Toby said with slight hesitance. "At least not the way I was."

The older man grinned, "will see about that."

George continued grinning at Toby and bumped into his shoulder when he walked by. Toby's a little nervous to know what he meant by _we'll see about that_. What if he does something to Spencer? No, Toby can't even think about that right now. Although he knows what his father is capable of. He knows that if he needed to, he would hurt Spencer. The only thing keeping her safe right now is Toby keeping his mouth shut. It won't be for much longer. He'll be out of this house in a month. As soon as he's out, he'll be away from his father's abuse and can go on with his life. He can handle one more month of this if it means Spencer stays safe and alive.

* * *

 **What's going to happen when Spencer confronts Toby about what's really going on between him and his father? Will Toby come clean or will it only cause trouble? Again, sorry this is so short. Review anyway, because otherwise, I'm going to stop updating weekly.**


	25. Chapter 25

**R &R**

* * *

"Toby we need to talk."

Those were the first words that came out of Spencer's mouth that morning. He stopped by her house to give her a ride to school in his truck since her car is in for an oil change. They stopped for coffee along the way and she's been pretty silent all morning. He's done most of the talking. Spencer would smile and nodded occasionally. Toby wondered what she could be thinking. It wasn't until they arrived at school when Spencer finally spoke.

They walked hand in hand to French class and a lot is going through Spencer's mind right now. She thought a lot about her conversation with Melissa. She was right. There is something going on with Toby. She's suspected it for some time that Toby is having problems at home but didn't want to believe that it was a real big problem. Plus, she wanted to give him a chance to come to her about whatever problem he's facing. She wants him to know that he can trust her and he can come to her about anything.

"Toby," Spencer stopped him right outside the classroom. "We need to talk."

 _This Isn't working out. We're over. Our time together was fun while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end. I'm breaking up with you._ Those were only some of the many bad thoughts going through his head when she said those five words. Everybody knows what comes after that. When a girl tells a boy that they need to talk, normally it's a sign that they're breaking up with you.

Why would Spencer want to break up? They were fine just last weekend. Spencer was smiling, laughing, and seemed to be enjoying herself with him. Unless it was all an act and she was allowing him to have his last weekend with her.

"Oh, no," he said. "You're breaking up with me."

"What!? No," she squeezed his hand and pulled him to a private place. "No, this is not a breakup. That's not what it is at all."

"Oh," he sighed in relief. "Then what's this about?"

"This is about you."

"Me? Why do you want to talk about me?"

"I'm worried about you. I've noticed you've been acting strangely. There are times where you seem perfectly fine. One day you're fine then the next, you seem really upset."

"Just the typical mood swings. Don't all teens go through that?"

"Sure they do," she nodded. "But I've been a little concerned about you. Is there anything going on that I don't know about?"

"No," he said. "There's nothing wrong.

"Are you sure? Ever since your attack I've noticed how jumpy you've been."

"Well, I guess I have been a little on edge since my attack, but that's only because it happened so unexpectedly."

"I guess that's understandable. Do the police have any leads on who they think did it?"

"Not that I know of. Then again, the cops in this town aren't the brightest."

"Do you have any ideas of who you think could've done this?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. All that I can remember is that the guy was big. For a second, I thought that I could handle myself when I should've called the police sooner. I don't know if they police will catch the guy and if he's still out there. I'm worried about him hurting someone else. I'm worried about him hurting you."

She moved her hands up his arms, "you don't have to worry about me."

"I know, but I do anyway. I'm your boyfriend so it's my job to worry about you."

"And as your girlfriend I worry about you. Which is why if there's anything going on with you at school, outside of school, or even at home, I want you to know that you can tell me. You know that you can tell me anything, don't you?"

Toby nodded, "I know that."

"Okay," she whispered.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

Her lips curved up into a smile, "do I have enough time to tell you I love you?"

Toby twisted his lip and thought for a second. He finally nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose we have a little time."

"Good," her smile turned into a grin. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The one-minute warning bell rang and everyone started moving to their classes. Toby pecked her on the lips, grabbed her hand, and the two of them walked to their class.

* * *

"He's lying. I don't know what it is he's hiding, but he's lying. I just know it."

Spencer held onto her lunch tray as she and her friends make their way to their lunch table. She started ranting about the conversation she had with Toby just earlier that morning. All she wants to know is what's bothering him. George Cavanaugh is up to something and it's affecting Toby. Toby won't open up about it. What is going on that he can't tell me? The only thing Spencer got out of their conversation is that Toby's trying to protect her from something. From what, though?

Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer took a seat at their table. Toby can't make it for lunch today because he's using his lunch period to get in some extra time in the workshop. Which is totally fine. He usually spends his lunch time in the workshop.

"If Toby didn't tell you what's going on, Spencer, he probably can't," Emily said.

"Yeah, but what can't he tell me?" Spencer asked while unwrapping her sandwich. "He knows that he can tell me anything. If there's something going on that he doesn't want to tell me, does that mean he doesn't trust me or is someone making him stay quiet."

"What if Toby really is telling you the truth?" Aria said. "Maybe he really is just nervous about what happened to him after the attack. He could be telling you the truth."

"Yeah, but he's not."

"Why are you so sure he's hiding something?" Emily asked.

"Because he looked to the left when he talked to me."

"Huh?" Hanna squinted her eyes.

Spencer sighed and put down her sandwich, "when Toby is lying he always looks down to the left. It's something I've picked up on when I first started tutoring him."

"When has Toby ever lied to you before?" Aria asked.

"When I asked him if he cried at the end of "The Notebook," and he said no."

The other girls chuckled and Spencer even cracked a smile. When the lunch bell rang, the girls wrapped up their stuff and threw it in a nearby trash can. Spencer grabbed her bag and headed towards the hallway. When she got to her locker, she felt somebody come up behind her. It didn't feel like Toby, so it had to be someone else. Someone she probably doesn't want to see or talk to right now.

Sighing, "what do you want Andrew?"

His lips curved into a twisted smile, "you didn't even turn around. How did you know it was me?"

"Easy," she shrugged. "I just caught the sense of a douchebag standing behind me."

Andrew chuckled, "you know, we used to be friends. What happened to that?"

"Um, you turned into a total jerk," she said like it was obvious.

"I can change," Andrew touched her arm to turn her around. "I have changed. A couple months ago I was a total jerk, but I'm not anymore."

Spencer scuffled, "I find that hard to believe. You're still hanging around with Alison, Noel, and their band of bitches and bastards."

"Bitches and bastards," Andrew repeated in amusement. "Is that what you're calling us now?"

"It's what I've always called you."

She turned back towards her locker to grab the book she needs for English. Right now, she's wishing he would walk away and leave her alone. The last thing she needs is more problems with Andrew and Alison. The bell rang and Spencer went on to her class without saying another word.

* * *

At the end of the school day, Spencer was walking down the hallway when she saw Hanna and Caleb down by his locker. Caleb was saying something to her and Hanna kept smiling. They ended the conversation with a nod and Hanna stepped up to hug him. Caleb pecked her on the lips then went down the hall. Hanna finally looked up and spotted Spencer watching them. Spencer walked up to her with a smile on her face.

"Did I just witness Caleb asking you out on a date?"

"Yes," Hanna grinned. "You did and I said yes."

Spencer smiled, "Aw Hanna I'm so happy for you. You're finally giving him a chance."

"Yeah, well, Caleb's really stepped up these last couple weeks, so I can see that he really is trying to be a better person."

"When is your date and where is he taking you?"

Hanna started talking while they walked down the hall. "Our date is Friday night at 7. He's going to pick me up and take me out for a lovely dinner at this restraint he's always telling me about."

"That's great, Hanna. Really, I hope things work out between you two. I think you and Caleb go well together."

"Yeah," Hanna sighed. "I'm hoping things work out between us too. I really like him and he seems to really care about me. Things could work out."

"It will, but it will also take some time."

"Yeah, well, I better get home."

"Okay, see you."

Hanna smiled and waved at her friend then exited the building. As soon as Hanna was out the door, Spencer turned back down the hallway hoping to catch up with Caleb before he left. He's moving in on one of her best friends, so she feels now is the perfect time to have a little chat with him. She searched the halls and finally found him in the cafeteria. He's by the snack machine sticking his arm up the slaught. Spencer wondered what he was doing while walking up to him.

"Need some help?" She asked catching him by surprise.

He jumped and turned around, "oh, Spencer it's only you."

"Yeah, you want to tell me why you're getting your arm stuck in the vending machine?"

"Uh," Caleb chuckled nervously and pulled his arm out. "The stupid machine ate my dollar and won't give me my bag of chips."

"So, you decided to stick your arm in the machine?"

"Yeah, it's not working too well," he said scratching the back of his head.

"Maybe I can help."

Spencer walked up to the machine and put a dollar in. After punching in the right code, the bag of chips sprung out and fell into the slaught. Caleb reached in and pulled the bag of chips out.

"There," Spencer said smiling. "Your chips are served and you now owe me one dollar."

"I promise I'll have it for you tomorrow. I'm guessing you didn't come in here to ask me why I was buying a bag of chips."

"You would be right. I'm here to talk to you about Hanna."

"You don't have to worry, Spencer. I won't hurt her."

"Oh, I know you won't, because if you do I will hurt you in ways that you can't even imagine."

"It's good that you're concerned about Hanna, but I can promise you that I have no intentions of hurting her. I really care about Hanna. She's the kind of girl any guy would be dumb enough to let go of."

Spencer nodded, "that I can agree on."

"I guess I should get home."

"Yeah, me too. I'll see you tomorrow."

Spencer tugged her bag more over her shoulder and headed for the door. Toby should be waiting for her in the parking lot. When she left the room, Caleb got a text from Alison.

 _Do they suspect anything? -Ali_

 _No. -Caleb._

 _Excellent. Have you gained Hanna's trust yet?" -Ali_

 _I'm starting to. -Caleb._

 _What do you know so far? -Ali_

 _That Toby is definitely hiding something. It's something big he won't even tell Spencer about it. I think it has to do with his father. -Caleb._

 _Keep moving in on them and keep us posted. Andrew and I will be working to find out what secret Toby is hiding. Phase 1 of ruining Toby's life is a green light. -Ali._

* * *

 **Uh-oh, Alison and Andrew are working to find out what Toby's hiding. What will happen if they figure out what's going on before Spencer does?**

 **I'm sorry that this chapter wasn't very good, but I have major writer's block when it comes to this story. Updating chapters is going to take me longer to give me more time to plan and write. That way I won't leave you all with crappy chapters much like this one. Until next time.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey, I'm really sorry it took me so long to post another chapter and that this chapter is short, but like I said before, I'm going through some major writers block. Please forgive me if I take a long time to update in the future.**

 **R &R**

* * *

"Alright class," the French teacher spoke up. "This semester is almost over and pretty soon we'll be going on our holiday break. Before the holiday's you know what's coming. That's right. Your French Final will be this Thursday. Make sure you study for this one. It will be a lot harder than 3rd year French. If you would get out your notebook, I will let you know what will be on the test."

She paused for a moment to let everyone get out their notebooks and pen. Toby feels a little uneasy about this final. He only past last year's final with a 68. That week he was coughing up blood for days when his dad saw. His dad warned him that if he got anything below a B on this test, he would make Toby very, very sorry. It's a good thing he has Spencer around to help him. He'd be totally lost without her. And he doesn't mean in just French.

"On this test there will be multiple choice questions and free response questions. You'll have to do English to French translations and in vise verse. There will be complete the sentences. There is an essay portion as well. You have to write a conversation in French. It will need to be no more than 150 words and no less than 50."

"My advice to you would be to form study groups with your fellow classmates. Study the notes I know you all took throughout the year. This will not be an easy test, so please, take time out of your day to prepare." She checks the watch on her wrist for the time. "Okay, we have about five minutes left of class, so use this time to talk to your neighbors in French"

Toby finished writing done everything the teacher said. When he finished, he put away his notebook then turned around to face Spencer. He chuckled when she seemed to be too preoccupied with her French book.

"Spence," he called and she looked up. "Y at-il une chance que je pouvais venir ici ce soir , donc je peux vous aider à étudier? (Is there a chance I could come over tonight, so I can help you study?)"

Spencer giggled, "Vous allez me aider à étudier ? (You're going to help me study?)"

"Well, we would help each other," he said dropping his accent.

"Okay," she nodded. "Come over tonight and we'll study together."

"Te quiero."

Spencer giggled, "that's Spanish, not French."

"I know," he said. "I was just testing you to see if you knew that."

"Yeah," she laughed. "Okay."

The bell rang and everyone stood up to leave. The school day went on and pretty soon it was lunch time. At the lunch table, the girls are sitting there going on and on about how excited she is for her date with Caleb this week. Spencer and Toby approach the table together and took a seat.

"I'm trying to decide if I want to straighten my hair or have it curly. I also need to go shopping for a new outfit," Hanna ranted on.

"Where do you have time to go shopping? Don't you have finals to study for?" Emily asked.

"How can I have time to study, when I have a date to prepare for?"

"Caleb number one on Hanna's priority list. School work, zero," Aria teased.

"Go ahead and make fun all you want, Aria. You won't be laughing when I make Spencer or Emily my maid of honor at my wedding."

"You really think that you and Caleb will get married?" Aria asked.

Hanna shrugged and said, "It could happen. I just need to get through this one night. Spencer, can you go shopping with me after school?"

"Sorry, Han. I'm going to be spending every waking moment studying."

"Ugh, what about you Emily?"

"I'm doing the same thing as Spencer."

"Come on!" Hanna exclaimed. "Will anybody go shopping with me!?"

"I can go shopping with you, Hanna," Alison said while strolling towards their table.

Hanna rolled her eyes, "I much rather go with an actual friend."

"But I am your friend, Hanna."

"Well, I don't want to go shopping."

"You just said you did."

"Then I remembered I made study plans with Aria and Emily."

"Why say you can go shopping when you already had plans?" Alison asked.

Spencer sat there rolling her eyes, "just move along, Alison. This conversation doesn't concern you."

"Relax, Spence. It's not like I came over here to cause trouble."

"Well, you always do cause trouble," Caleb said while walking up. "And after you walk away you leave a path of damage behind you. You're just like a tornado. I guess a hurricane would fit better since hurricanes have names. People should just call you hurricane Alison."

Alison crossed her arms and glared, "don't get smart with me, computer geek."

"Ali," Spencer said. "Why don't you find some guys to hang out with and do what you do best by slutting it up in a closet?"

"Whatever," she scoffed and walked away.

Alison left the table and walked out into the hallway. As soon as she was gone, the other's laughed at what Spencer and Caleb said. The ending lunch bell rang and everyone rushed out of the cafeteria. Spencer said her goodbyes to Toby then walked with Hanna towards their classes.

"So, what do you think about this date?" Hanna asked.

Spencer shrugged, "what do you mean?"

"Well, what should I wear and how should I do my hair?"

"Hanna you know all of this stuff. You've gone on dates before."

"Yeah, but none with a guy that I actually like. I really want this date to be good. Everybody knows that the outfit you wear on your first date with a boy matters. That kind of thing sticks with you forever."

"Why do you want my advice on this? You and Aria are the one's who are known for your style."

"What did you wear on your first date with Toby?"

"Um, a tank top and sweatpants," Spencer laughed. "Toby and I had our first date the night I got grounded. He climbed up a tree and sat on a branch outside my window."

Hanna smiled, "aw that's such a romantic story. I never get tired of hearing it."

"It was very sweet and turned out to be one of the best nights of my life."

"I wish all boys were easy like Toby. You didn't have to change anything about you to get him to like you. He already loves you because well, you're you."

"If Caleb really cares about you, he'll like you for who you are and no matter what you wear."

"I guess," Hanna looks down at her the floor.

Spencer sighed, "okay, you should wear a skirt and a blouse with those cute cowgirl boots you bought last month at the mall. Wear your hair down in waves."

Hanna grinned and gave her a tight hug," thank you, Spence!"

By late afternoon, soft music played in Spencer's bedroom. Spencer and Toby are currently lying on Spencer's bed in the middle of a tongue battle. The night started out like any other night. Toby came over to study for their exams on Thursday and Friday. She made a pot of coffee and invited him up to her room where they started out by quizzing each other. Spencer put on some music in the background to help keep their focus. As time passed by, they dropped the studying and started talking about other things. Toby suggested they take a little break and Spencer hesitantly agreed.

"What are your plans for over Christmas break?" Toby asked.

Spencer sighed and gazed down at their intertwined hands and watched their thumbs as they faced each other in an intense thumb war. _1234 I declare a thumb war._ These two have been battling it out for a good fifteen minutes.

"Well," Spencer prepared the answer to his question. "Christmas for the Hastings has always been a mysteries. One year we went to this sky lodge along with my aunt and uncle. Another year my parents went to spend Christmas in Paris to celebrate Melissa' graduation high school. I think this year my family plans to visit Melissa in Philly for Christmas."

"They?" Toby asked. "Are you going with them?"

She sighed, "It doesn't look like it. I'll probably just lay low here in Rosewood. What about you? What are your big Christmas plans?"

"My father is flying to Vega for two weeks. It should stay mostly peaceful for a few days."

"Your dad just leaves you home on holidays."

"I don't mind it really," he said. "I've spent the last few Christmases alone and maybe this year could be different."

"What do you mean?" She asked still concentrating on their thumbs.

"Well," Toby took a deep breath. "My grandparents had this cabin in Bucks county. We would meet there for Christmas every other year when my mother was alive. My dad hasn't gone there since after my mom died, but I've spent some time there. It's pretty isolated from everyone here in town. I don't know. I was thinking that maybe you and I could go there. Maybe we could spend Christmas weekend there."

Spencer looked away from their conjoined thumbs, "seriously?"

He quickly looked down hoping he didn't say the wrong thing.

"That is if you want to. It was only a suggestion. I thought since we're both going to be alone. It might be nice to spend a weekend together just the two of us."

She paused their thumb battle for a second to look at him. Smiling she says, "a weekend alone with you sounds perfect."

"Would right now be a good time to mention that you just forfeited our thumb war?" He said teasingly.

Her lip curled up into a tight smirk, "damn it."

"That's alright," he smiled. "You'll have a chance for a rematch over our Christmas weekend."

Her smile grew. She held the back of his head and kissed him lovingly on the lips. "I love the way that sounds," she said her voice going deep. "Our Christmas weekend."

He smiled at her for a while before leaning in to capture her lips in a warm, loving kiss. She repositioned her hands along the back of his head and pulled him down on the bed. He willingly followed her. Leaning over her while, they kissed. His fingers tucked around the back of her head and got lost in her hair.

* * *

 **Again, sorry for the short chapter. Maybe next chapter will be better since it will be about Spencer and Toby spending a weekend together at his cabin. How do you think that will go? Despite the shortness, how was this chapter? Please tell me in the review. Until next time.**


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm back with another chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

The day school let out for winter break, Spencer spent all morning packing up her stuff for the weekend. For the next four days, she and Toby will be together in his cabin with no interruptions. It's exciting really to be able to get away from everyone for a few days and just be with the one you love. Spencer's really looking forward to nothing but sitting by the warm fire while listening to the snow floating to the ground. She can't wait to sit under a blanket and just lean her head back against Toby's chest while she listens to the sound of his heart beating. She'll be waking up beside him and be able to see that first smile Christmas morning when he see's she made him breakfast. Wait until he sees the present she got him. This weekend is going to be perfect.

At 5 pm, Toby will be here to pick her up. Hanna and Aria came over to discuss more her weekend plans. Emily couldn't come because her father surprised her by coming home. Aria and Hanna walked up the Hastings's drive and noticed that their door is already unlocked. The only car in the driveways is Spencer's so her parents must've left to visit Melissa already. Of course, they would just leave Spencer behind. It's not the first time they've done so. Her spending Christmas with Toby will be a good thing for her. For once, this year she won't be spending it alone. She'll be with someone she loves and someone who really loves her back.

Hanna opens the back door and leads the way into the living room. Just as they were walking in, Spencer came running down the stairs with her duffle bag hanging down her shoulder and her purse in her other hand. She set her things on one of the chairs in the living room. After brushing her hair out of her eyes, she sighed and put her hands on her hips.

"Look at you all ready for your big romantic weekend alone with Toby," Aria teased.

Spencer blushed and removed her hands from her hips. It's 4:45, so Toby should be here soon. Right now, Spencer's excited and nervous about this weekend. She's mostly excited, but something is causing her to feel a bit nervous. She and Toby have been dating for a while now. They've been together pretty much since this school year started. With all their heavy feelings for each other. Who knows what could happen this weekend? Spencer feels like she's ready for it but what if he Isn't?

"Tell us more about this weekend," Aria said.

"Well," Spencer said. "Since both of our families won't be around we decided to drive up to his Uncle's old cabin and spend the weekend there together."

"It will be just the two of you, alone, and in his cabin for four whole days," Hanna said.

Spencer looks through her bag, "could one of you read off my list of things for me. I want to make sure I have everything."

Hanna picked up the list and started reading off of it, "let's see," she sighs. "Shirts, coat, panties, bras, boots, jeans, sweat pants, pajamas, a toothbrush."

"Check for all those things," Spencer said. "Keep going."

"Don't forget your toothpaste, a comb and a brush, your shampoo and conditioner." Hanna stopped and smiled, " most importantly, don't forget the condoms."

Spencer stopped looking through her stuff and glared at her. She stands up, pulling her dark gray sweatshirt down over her waist then, snatches the list out of Hanna's hands.

"That's not on my list."

"Well, it should be," Hanna said. "Because you're going to need them."

"Why would you think I would need them?" She asks crossing her arms.

"Uh, hello. Toby's taking you to his uncle's cabin for a _romantic_ weekend alone. Empathy on the romantic part."

"Just because we're going to be there alone doesn't mean anything will happen," Spencer said.

"Well, are you ready for it to?" Aria asked.

"Whether I'm ready is not the point. I don't want to make Toby uncomfortable this weekend. If I bring it up for sure it will make him uncomfortable."

"What if he is ready for it, but he's waiting on you to make a move. Then you'll both be sitting around that cabin wanting something to happen but too afraid to make it happen," Hanna said.

"I don't want anything to ruin this weekend," Spencer said. "I want this Christmas to be great. Mostly because I know that Toby hasn't had one in a very long time. If it's meant to happen over the weekend then it will happen. If not, that just means it wasn't meant to happen right then."

A gentle knock sounded on the door. Spencer shouted that the door is opened and Toby walked in. The girl's hushed up real quick about what they were just discussing. Toby looks good today. He's dressed in a blue button-up shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and a brown jacket. His light brown hair looks like it's just been cut. It's nice and short, and part of it is sticking up at the top.

"Hey," he smiled at Spencer. "You almost ready?"

She smiled back, "I am. I just need to get my stuff out to your truck."

She starts to pick up her bag, but he comes over to grab it for her. She smiles at him again then watches him take her duffle out to his truck. The girls follow them out on the driveway. Spencer had to shut and lock the door before walking with them. Toby sets her bag in the back of the truck right next to his. Spencer stood around with the girls to say their last goodbyes.

"You two have fun," Aria said, smiling. "I mean it. You two deserve a break after this harsh semester. Take a load off, kick back, relax, and enjoy yourselves. By the way, I'm mostly saying this to Spencer."

Toby chuckled and put a hand on Spencer's back, "don't worry, I'll make sure Spencer relaxes this weekend."

"Good."

"Okay, so you guys have everything?" Hanna asked.

Spencer nodded, "yeah, I'd say we're good."

"Is there anyway that we can call you?" Aria asked.

"Uh, yeah. Our cell phones should work at the cabin, but if not," Toby writes down the number for the cabin. "You can try calling us on the landline."

"What's a landline?" Hanna asked.

"You know it's a home phone," Spencer said.

"Oh right," Hanna nodded. "We'll be sure to call you if something should happen, but for the most part, we'll try to leave you two alone."

Toby didn't seem to catch the wink that Hanna gave Spencer. Spencer just shook it off not wanting to draw attention to the matter.

"Call us when you get there," Aria said. "I want to know if you guys got there safely."

"Yes mom," Spencer teased.

The four of them laughed. Aria hugged Spencer goodbye and waved to Toby. It would be weird to hug him even though they're friends. They aren't really that close. Not like how Emily is with them. Hanna kind of hugged Toby goodbye, but it was a side hug. When Hanna hugged Spencer, she stuck something in her purse. When Spencer opened her mouth to protest, Hanna whispered.

"Just in case."

* * *

After a forty-five minute drive, Toby pulled up into the driveway of the cabin. It started snowing on the drive up here and left a thin layer of white on the roof top. It's a one story cabin with two bedrooms. The yard is fair sized and surrounded by a few trees. There's a short walkway leading from the driveway to the front porch. They both hop out of the truck and grab their bags out of the back. Toby waits for Spencer to circle around to the front and laces their hands together as they walk up the drive.

"This is it," he stops them at the bottom step to look at the place.

The cabins a little run down, but it's still in fairly good shape. There aren't any leaks in the roof or cracks in the wall. The whole cabin is made out of maple wood and had a stone chimney. The windows to the cabin are surrounded by green frames. Sitting on the front porch, there's a furniture set that contains two chairs and a bench with a wooden table in between. Toby actually helped his uncle make those chairs when he was nine, so they still should be in pretty good shape. This cabin was built back in 1938. His Uncle built this cabin for getting away with his wife and kids. Although, his uncle never had children because his wife died three years after this cabin was finished. He never remarried. Instead, he turned the place into his hunting cabin. They're is a woods out back.

"It's nice," Spencer commented.

"Yeah, my uncle did a really good job on it."

He lead the way up the stairs and unlocked the front door. The inside looks just as cozy as you would think a log cabin would be. There's beautiful, tan couch set up in front of the built-in fireplace. Below Spencer's feet, there's a knitted welcome matt. She's guessing Toby's grandmother made that or his mother. Who knows, maybe his aunt knitted it. On each side of the couch, there are furnished chairs with wooden frames and a red violet carpet in the center of all the floor. The kitchen is on the left with a stove, a fridge, two counter tops, and a sink. On the right side of the room, there's a double bed that has the same wooden frame as the couch. The thick mattress is covered with red, plaid, flannel sheets and a reddish brown comforter. Right by the doorway, there's a coat rack with enough hooks to hold four coats.

"Welcome to the family cabin," Toby said.

Spencer smiles, "this place is nice. It's a little chilly in here."

"It will get warmer when we build a fire. If you want something hot to drink, there's some tea bags or coffee in one of the counters."

She nods and walks towards the kitchen. While she makes them tea, he got busy on making a fire. There is heat available for this cabin, but most people just build a fire in the fireplace to keep warm. There's already some logs stacked up by the fireplace. He'll probably have to go outside to bring more wood in to last them the night. Toby sets the remaining logs into the fireplace, adds some newspaper then, strikes a match. Pretty soon the yellow, orange glow of the fire beings to warm Toby's body. Not before too long, the whole place felts nice and toasty.

"I'm going to get us some more wood from out by the woods," he said while picking up the ache out of the closet. "I'll be back."

Almost an hour later, Toby came back in carrying a big bag full of wood. That should last them the night. As soon as he set the bag down by the fireplace, he smelt something good coming from the kitchen. He turns and looks to see the kitchen table set with plates, glasses, silverware, and two cooking containers with steam rising out of them.

"What is this?"

"Dinner," Spencer said.

She removes the two tops of the containers. Toby waits for some of the steam to clear before seeing what it is. One of the containers has pasta and the other has cooked vegetables. He looks at her.

"I made angel hair pasta with a special sauce of mine and veggies," she says.

"Spencer I wasn't even gone for more than sixty minutes, how did you prepare this so fast."

"Well, while you were over there building a fire, I put a pot of water on the stove. I found some pasta in one of the cabinets that's still in good use plus some frozen vegetables. This pasta sauce I came up with my own recipe with Italian dressing."

He looks at her for a moment before kissing her lovingly on the lips. He pulls back and cups his hands around her face.

"You are perfect."

"Le dinner est servi," she whispers.

The first evening at the cabin went by very well. They ate dinner that Spencer made then watched a movie on the old t.v. After the movie ended, they got ready for bed and fell asleep lying next to each other on the bed. Toby rolled over on his side to wrap his arm around Spencer. Then the two were off to dreamland.

* * *

 **Christmas Eve**

One day has gone by and a new one begins. The early glow of the sun makes its way through the windows and sets a spotlight on Spencer's side of the bed. If it weren't for the warm covers and Toby's muscular arm wrapped around her, she would've been freezing. The fire is nothing but a bunch of smoky, burnt up wood. Spencer rolls over on her side just as Toby begins to wake. The first thing he sees is her beautiful brown eyes. They say their good mornings and share a couple kisses before getting out of bed. After getting dressed into some warmer clothes, Spencer looked over and saw Toby working on rebuilding the fire that went out. In just a few seconds, orange and yellow flames started crackling in the fireplace.

"Are you warmer?" He asked coming over to wrap his arms around her shivering body.

She presses her body against his and smiles, "I am now."

He stands there for a minute or two rubbing his hand up and down her back. Spencer tore herself away and mumbled something about going to make breakfast. Toby stopped her and said he'd do it. Since she made dinner last night. After breakfast, Toby took Spencer on a walk. He leads her through a path that his uncle made through the woods. It's about three and a half miles long. The tree branches look so pretty covered in snow. During the night, it snowed some and left a couple inches on the ground. Spencer kept thinking how beautiful it is out here.

Since it's Christmas eve, they both decided to find a nice tree to put in the living room. After lunch, Toby grabbed an ax and the two went back on the trail to find one. It took almost an hour to find the perfect tree. One that's not too tall and not too short. The tree that they found was about five feet. They got it back to the cabin and set it up in the corner of the living room. Toby managed to find some lights for the tree in a closet. He spent a few Christmas's here with his mom and uncle before they died. There weren't very many decorations to put on the tree, but enough that it still looked festive.

By nightfall, the tree was decorated with multicolored lights and some ornaments. With the food, they packed along plus the food that's already here in the cabin. Spencer and Toby managed to make a quality dinner for themselves. They made baked chicken with potatoes and gravy.

"The gravy you made is really good," Spencer said.

"Thank you. It's my mother's recipe."

"She must've been a really good cook."

"Aw she was the best. My mother used to make honey mustard chicken and it was the best thing ever. She also made lasagna, which I love."

Spencer always loves it when he talks about his mother. His face lights up and his eyes gleam. It's seriously adorable how he gets when he talks about her.

"My mother is a good cook too," Spencer started. "But she never has time to cook anymore. She might make dinner once or twice a month. Growing up, my nanny made all my meals for me. Until I turned eleven then, I started cooking on my own."

"That would explain how you were able to make a nice meal in under forty minutes the other night," Toby said with a smile.

She laughed, "yeah, I happen to have that skill. Plus," she smirked. "I'm a fast learner."

Toby scooted his chair back and stood up, "I'll do the dishes then add some more wood to the fire."

"No," she stood up. "I can do the dishes. It's not problem. You go on and get some more wood."

"Are you sure?"

She nods. He walks over to her, brushes her cheek with the back of his hand then, leans down to kiss her. His lips lasted on hers for a few seconds before parting. "I'll be back," he whispers then walks out the door. After he left, Spencer walked over to the table and started clearing things. Half way into doing the dishes, Toby came back cradling wood in one arm and holding a wrapped box in the other. Spencer eyes the box and is immediately intrigued by what's inside.

"What's that?" She asks, pointing at the box.

"Nothing," he smirks.

She walks over to him, "is that a present for me?"

"Possibly"

He sets the pile of wood down by the fireplace and adds a couple logs to the flames. After he does that, he walks over to the tree and sets the red and green wrapped box under it.

"Well, what is it?" Spencer asked coming to stand by him. "What's in the box?"

"I can't tell you."

"Aw come on, please?"

"Nope," he touches her shoulder guiding her away from the tree. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Haven't you ever heard the rule of opening one present on Christmas Eve?"

He ghosted his lips over hers, "it will be better if you wait until tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night," she whined. "Can you at least give me a hint?"

"Sorry, babe. You'll find out tomorrow. Right now," he pauses to kiss her. "It's getting late."

"Fine," she pouts. "Since you won't tell me what you got me, you're not allowed to cuddle with me tonight."

"Oh come on," he chuckles. "Don't punish me that way."

"No."

She walks away from him and gets her pajamas from her duffel bag. Her pajamas contain one of his long sleeve shirts and a pair of flannel pajama pants. She goes into the bathroom to change while Toby gets dressed out in the room. When she steps out of the bathroom, she finds him on the bed lying on his back. He's wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants and a dark blue tank top. His muscles really pop out in that thing. She smiles and crawls up on the bed beside him. Toby was surprised when she wrapped her small arms around him and laid her head on his chest. She snuggled up against his frame and smiled.

"I thought you weren't going to cuddle with me tonight," he teased.

"Then I realized that would be just as much punishment for me as it would be for you. With no cuddling, nobody wins. Your punishment is you _have_ to cuddle with me."

"Okay," he smiles and loops his arm around her. "I guess I can live with that."

* * *

 **What do you think Toby got her? Have to wait and see next chapter.**

 **I'm sorry for not updating in a while, but I'm a very busy girl. Maybe when this story gets ten reviews I'll upload the next chapter.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Slight bump on the rating just to be on the safe side.**

* * *

 **Christmas Day**

Coming Christmas morning, the first thing Toby woke up to was a half-empty bed. Either Spencer's in the bathroom or she's making breakfast. He could smell something sweet from the kitchen. Toby climbs out of bed and notices how warm the air feels. There's new wood burning in the fireplace. Spencer must've put more wood in.

"You better not be peeking at your present right now."

He joked while walking into the kitchen. When he got there, he saw something sweet sitting on a plate set out on the table. Spencer turned away from the stove with a pot of coffee. She pours two cups. One for him and one for her.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Breakfast," she said like it was obvious.

"I know, but what is that."

"It's monkey bread. I figured my monkey-head-of-a-boyfriend would like it," she teased.

He chuckled and sat down, "I never had monkey bread before, but I've heard great things about it."

"This stuff is amazing," she commented while sitting down across from him. "My sister and I used to make it on Christmas. Before World War, 3 started anyway."

Toby took a bite out of his piece and he swore he flew to heaven and back. This stuff's amazing. Why hasn't he ever had this before? Spencer being the one who made it makes it even better. After breakfast, Toby did the dishes while Spencer took a shower.

In the afternoon, more snow began to fall. Spencer thought it would be fun to go on a walk like they did yesterday. They zipped up their winter coats and headed down the trail through the woods. The white flakes fluttered down and some landed in Spencer's hair. Toby couldn't help but think how beautiful she looks. When Spencer was looking at a couple of squirrels chasing each other, she felt something cold and wet hit her shoulder. She glanced over at Toby and he just stood there trying to act innocent.

"Did you just throw a snowball at me?" She asked, smiling.

"I don't know. Did it look like this?"

He throws another snowball that hit her in the chest.

"Yeah, it did."

"Oh," he simply smiled. "Yeah, I think it was that squirrel over there."

"Oh, yeah."

She gathers up enough snow to make her own little snowball and nailed him right in the chest with it. Toby laughed and shook the snow off his coat.

"Take that squirrel."

Based on the look in Toby's eye, she knew he was planning revenge. Spencer turned to run, but Toby wrapped his arms around her before she got very far. She giggled when Toby pulled her down on the ground and started tickling her. More snow got tangled up in her hair, but that didn't stop Spencer's laughing. He stopped tickling her for a moment and just looked at her. She really is the most beautiful girl in the world. She's the most beautiful girl in his world. Mostly because she is his world.

After their little play time out in the snow, they returned to the cabin for lunch. Spencer started working on dinner for tonight not to long after. By 5 pm, it began to get dark outside. For dinner, she made lasagna just like Toby said he liked. He was amazed at how good of a cook she is. Although, he shouldn't be, because this is Spencer he's talking about. She can practically do anything.

Dinner time ended. After the dishes were washed, they settled by the fireplace roasting marshmallows over the fire for smores. Toby managed to boil water in a cattle over the fire for hot chocolate. They rolled out a couple sleeping bags and sat by the fire. Toby sat with his back leaning against the couch with Spencer leaning against his chest.

"Toby."

"What?"

"Can I open my present now?"

He chuckled against her hair and said, "yes, you may open it now."

She crawls the few feet over the tree to retrieve the present then leans herself back against his chest. Toby's arms stay around, watching her while she opens her gift. She opens it and it's a black velvet box. Inside the box, is a necklace with a heart. She traces the charm with her fingers.

"Oh my god," her eyes begin to water. "It's beautiful."

"Turn it around," he whispers.

She does just that. On the back side of the heart, it says _I love you -T._ Tears of joy blurred her vision as she looked at him.

"Toby…" her voice came out in a whisper.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it?" She giggled happily. "I love it. Thank you." She gives him a quick kiss and a long hug before pulling back. "I got you something too."

Spencer gets up to walk over to her purse and comes back with a black box. He hands it to Toby and their fingers touch. When he opens the box, inside there's a gold pocket watch. Spencer tells him to open the watch to read the message inside. He then opens that up and is amazed by the fine words engraved inside. _Your are my once upon a time -S._ Toby traces his fingers over the letters and his eyes flooded with tears. Tears of joy of course.

"Spence," he looked up at her real quick then back down at the watch.

Spencer's smile grew just by seeing the smile on his face. It always makes her happy to see him happy. Even if it only last the whole weekend. If small gestures like these make him happy, she would do stuff like this all the time. She tries her best every day to make him happy.

"I love you," she tells him.

He looks at her with tears in his eyes. How did he get so lucky to be with somebody so wonderful like Spencer? Just nine months ago, he was gawking over her like a middle school boy. Now, she's his girlfriend who loves him. He leaned in and kissed her. Spencer reached up to cup his face and slipped her tongue between his lips. Toby moaned as his tongue pushed against hers. While they were kissing, Spencer's hand traveled to his belt. After a few minutes, they pulled apart to catch their breath. When Toby opened his eyes, Spencer was looking right into his. She had this look in her eye and bit her lip. For a second, Toby thought he was dreaming. Now he's wishing he brought something. He licked his lips.

"I didn't think this would happen," he admitted.

She leaned her forehead against his and trapped the back of his neck with her hands.

"Have you thought about this?" She asked in a low raspy voice.

"Yes," he nodded. "Of course I've thought about it. I thought about bringing something, but then I wondered if you thought it would be too soon. I wasn't sure if you were ready. I didn't want this weekend to be ruined by you finding the wrong thing in my bag and thinking that's what this weekend is all about. I really just brought you here to spend a nice weekend together along, but now that we're here."

"I know that you respect me. I was having the same thoughts as you. Now that I'm here with you. I-I love you and I want this. I want it with you."

"I do too," he started kissing her again, but stopped after a minute. He leaned their foreheads back together and he sighed. "I didn't bring anything, remember?"

"Wait," she untangled herself from him and crawled over to her purse at the end of the bed. Toby sat on the floor and leaned back against the couch while he watched her dig around her bag for something. A minute later, Spencer held up a condom and smiled.

"Hanna stuck these in my purse just in case we decided to do anything that's not actually rated G."

Spencer crawled back over to him and he laughed, "thank you, Hanna."

She laughed too and took her place back beside him. When she was back beside him and facing him, he looked at her as if her eyes contained all the stars in the sky. The soft gusts of the wind from the outdoors and the slow roaring of the fire set the mood just right. The darker it gets outside, the room depends more on fire light keep it lit. The firelight sets kind of a romantic tone.

Spencer grazes her hand over his cheek and traces her fingers down his perfect jawline. Her touch sent chills down his spine. The good chills. She reached the first button on his shirt and started undoing it. Then. she moved to the second button in undid that one. Before moving down to the last three buttons on his shirt, she searched his eyes for hesitation. Toby only looked at her with love and passion. She undid all the buttons on his shirt and he moved his arms so she could slide it off his body. The top half of his body is now visible to her and good lord, he looks good. Toby must work out at the gym or something. He's definitely been lifting some weights.

Toby caught her admiring his body and chuckled. Her cheeks flushed and a shy smile spread across her lips. Toby brushed two fingers under her chin and tipped her head up. He kissed her lips making sure to put all of his passion into it. Toby's fingers teased her sides as he moved his hands down to the bottom of her shirt. Their kiss grew more and more intense as he worked her shirt up her body. She pulled away long enough for him to get her shirt up over her head and down on the floor next to his shirt. He kissed her long and hard leaving her breathless when he pulled back. He took the time to look at her in her black skinny jeans and navy blue sports bra. The firelight reflected off their skin adding to the sexiness of their bodies. He grazed his fingers down her back.

"Are you sure about this?" He whispered even though there's nobody else around to hear them.

She nodded and said, "yes."

He pressed his nose against hers and they both just stayed like that with their eyes closed. Then, he kissed her cheek before moving his lips back on her mouth. Spencer instantly slipped her tongue in and began messing with his belt again. Once she got it loose, she pulled it through the loops. His belt was moved and pretty soon she was undoing his zipper. Toby's pants were pulled off leaving him in his dark blue Calvin boxers.

Not before long, the rest of his clothes were off. Spencer was left in the only two things keeping him from seeing what most men dream about. Toby said if she wanted to keep her bra on that was fine with him. Spencer shook her head and said she wanted to feel as close to him as possible. She took off her bra and allowed Toby to see what no other guy has ever had the privilege of seeing. If this was anybody else, she would've felt weird and exposed. But, she trusts Toby and loves him, and she knows he loves her enough and respects her. Her last article of clothing was removed and they were both left fully nude in front of each other.

"I love you," he told her before going in.

"I love you too," she whispered against his skin.

Spencer's nails dug deep into his back and clawed deeper with each thrust. Toby worked to make it just as enjoyable and comfortable for her as it is for him. Which is different from most guys. Other guys would be selfish and have it their own way. This is why Spencer knew Toby was the right one to give her virginity too. Sex wasn't the number one thing Toby cared about. She knows he cares more about her than getting the chance to be on top of her.

* * *

In the morning, the glow from the fireplace had completely gone out. Toby woke up in a sleeping bag on the floor next to Spencer. Her body is curled against his and her head is on his chest. He's not really sure what time it is. There's a clock in the room, but it's on the nightstand across the room. Based on the brightness of the sun, Toby's guessing it's 8 am. He moved his head down to get a look at Spencer who appeared to be still in deep sleep. After they made love the other night, the only thing they bothered to put back on was their underwear.

Toby brushed the hair out of the way of her forehead and kissed that spot. She nearly stirred some, but didn't open her eyes. It's still a bit early, but he suspects she'll be waking up soon. He searched around the floor for his pants and grabbed them. Being careful not to wake her, he slipped out of the sleeping bag to put on his pants. Then, he walked into the kitchen to start making coffee. He knows the first thing she'll want when she wakes up is a half dozen cups of coffee.

At around 8:45, Spencer was woke up to something good baking in the oven. She felt around only to realize that Toby is not longer by her side. Curious, she opened her eyes and looked around the room. There he was standing with his back towards her in the kitchen. Her face instantly lit up just by seeing him.

"Hey," Toby turned around holding a cup of fresh brewed coffee. "You're up. How did you sleep last night?"

"Great," her voice came out a little cracked since she was stretching her arms. "Best sleep I've had in a long time."

He smiled at her before bringing over a plate with something on it and a mug filled with coffee. Toby comes over and sits down beside her. Spencer up against the couch and pulls one of the blankets up to keep herself warm.

"I see you made breakfast."

"I did," he nodded. "Freshly baked biscuits with warm butter and, of course, your favorite daily source of energy; coffee."

"Ha," she smiled taking the plate and the cup from him. "Thank you."

He kissed her cheek then got up to get his on plate and cup. Spencer moved from where she was sitting on the floor and sat on the couch still trying to keep the blanket wrapped around her. Toby came back and sat beside her on the couch.

"I'm amazed," he said.

"By what?"

"It's almost 9 o'clock and you haven't checked your phone for messages yet. Actually, you've gone this whole weekend without paying much attention to your phone."

"Yeah, well, this weekend was made for just the two of us and I wanted to keep it that way. These biscuits are amazing by the way. Are they another thing your mom made?"

"My aunt actually," he said. "But she just did whatever the box mix told her too."

"Oh," she chuckled. "Well, they're good."

"It's too bad today's our last day. I've been really enjoying just being here with you."

She set down her half-empty coffee cup and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Her fingers tickled the back of his neck.

"I know. This weekend has been perfect, but," she pressed her forehead against his. "Maybe over Spring break we can spare a few days up here. It's nice and quiet."

He smiled, "I'd really like that. I would really enjoy bringing you back here, but you'll just have to check with the key holder."

Her smile widens, "alright. What can I do to convince the key holder of this house for him to bring me back here sometime?"

"I think unlimited hugs and kisses will due quite nicely."

"Alright, it's a deal."

He smiled and she kissed him lovingly on the lips. This weekend has been perfect for them. They had time to escape the craziness that is their life back home in Rosewood. After this amazing weekend together, neither one of them expected all the drama they're about to face back at home.

* * *

 **Spencer and Toby had their little romantic weekend getaway. Hopefully, you all enjoyed all the fluff for Spoby in the last two chapters. Next chapter when they get back to Rosewood, they'll be attending a New Year's Eve party. A New Year's Eve party will be lots of fun! Or will it?**


	29. Chapter 29

**This is not a chapter, this is a message from the author. For the time being, I'm putting this story on temporary hiatus. I'm really sorry and I know how frustrating it is to wait for an update. I've been having some trouble lately to come up with chapters for this story. Don't get me wrong, I know where I'm going with this story, I just haven't figured out how to write the next few chapters. This hiatus actually benefits you guys more than me. I can have more time to write nice, good, long chapters for you all to read instead of short, not as nice, crappy ones. Hopefully, you guys understand. I'm not stopping this story. I'm just putting it on hold while I give myself more time to write chapters for you all. Thank you for being so understanding about this and please, stay patient with me. I promise to post again as soon as I have chapters for you. Also, have a good Christmas and a happy New Year.**

 **On the bright side, I plan to continue updating my other story that I'm currently working on called "Misery Loves Company." If you want something to hold you over until I update again, you can check that out. Plus, I might write a holiday one-shot. But, that's a maybe. Will see what happens. Okay, bye guys.**

 **-Xox**


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